NAIROBI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Immigration experts began a three-day meeting in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Tuesday to enhance cooperation in border management in Africa.

The National Border Management Conference, which was held under the theme of "building on coordination and moving towards integration," brought together more than 300 participants from the United Nations as well as senior border control officials from across Africa, and served as a platform for dialogue, cooperation and innovation in border management on the continent.

Dimanche Sharon, chief of mission at the International Organization for Migration-Kenya, said in her opening remarks that the continent is keen to promote seamless coordinated border management systems in all ports of entry and exit.

"Cooperation in border management will promote regional integration by enabling regular migration across countries," Dimanche added, noting that collaboration among countries also creates efficiency that facilitates cross-border trade in the region.

Kithure Kindiki, cabinet secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Interior and National Administration, said that cooperation among African countries through information exchange is expected to eliminate trade in illicit goods among common borders.

Kindiki noted that African countries have resolved to cooperate to progressively reduce the use of forged travel documents, illegal migration, human trafficking, smuggling of weapons, trafficking of narcotics as well as laundering of money.

Apollo Kasiita-Gowa, director of Uganda's Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, said that because of the complexity of the security threats that countries continue to face across the world, there is a need for joint operations across countries.

He noted that through enhanced sharing of information and resources among various law enforcement agencies, it is easier to identify and respond to threats of a hybrid nature, including cross-border and transnational organized crimes. Enditem

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