working with the Government to encourage the development of a National BDC with membership in the International BDC Working Group, as an activity that would enhance the fight against transnational threats. On 5 July, the Office held a meeting with the senior officials of the Ministry of National Security to discuss further co-operation to combat acts of terrorism. The Office appreciated the initiative of the Government of Azerbaijan to establish a fully operational National BDC collaborating with other member countries of the International BDC Working Group. The Office expressed its readiness to provide institutional support and capacity building to the formation of the National BDC through providing Information Technology assets and special advanced training as well as organizing study tours to observe the setup and operation of National BDCs in other countries that have similar legislation, structures and traditions. The parties agreed to continue the fruitful co-operation. Road Traffic Safety On 17 January, the Office attended a round table organized by the Safe Road Alliance established by 12 NGOs. The main topics of the round table discussions were road traffic accidents, infrastructure and traffic legislation. Participants emphasized that the Alliance would do its best to contribute to safer road conditions and behaviour of drivers, conduct research and monitoring to find out the main reasons for road accidents, and carry out joint activities to reduce these cases. On 19 March, the Office met with a representative of the World Bank to discuss the upcoming traffic management and road safety project developed by the Office as well as the World Bank’s involvement in related activities. The World Bank, together with the Swedish Company SweRoad, developed a National Road Safety Strategy for Azerbaijan which includes improvements of the “road crash database”, training for the police, and better equipment for traffic police or road safety audits. On 29 March, the Office met with representatives from the WHO and the Public Health and Reforms Center (PHRC) of the Ministry of Health to discuss the upcoming traffic management and road safety project developed by the Office. The WHO Office in Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Health have been working on the implementation of the “Decade of Action for Road Safety in Azerbaijan”. The representatives from the PHRC and WHO raised the issue of communication deficiencies between the various actors involved in traffic management and road safety activities in Azerbaijan and saluted the OSCE’s intention to organize a conference which would facilitate better co-ordination among the various actors. On 11 June, the Office, together with traffic police experts from the UK and Sweden, visited the Intelligent Traffic Management Centre in order to gain a better understanding of the functioning and capacity of the recently opened state-of-the-art facility. Also on 11 June, the Office, together with international traffic police experts, conducted a brief assessment of road traffic issues in key areas of Baku. The assessment highlighted a series of problems including the attitude and behaviour of drivers and pedestrians, illegal parking, and lack or inappropriate placement of traffic signs, etc. On 12 June, the Office organized a “Co-ordination Round Table on Traffic Management and Road Safety”. The round table aimed at facilitating the sharing of knowledge and increasing the co-ordination among stakeholders involved in traffic management and road safety, as well as the sharing of ideas for future activities to improve road traffic safety. The event was the first of its kind and laid the groundwork for future project activities of the Office relating to road and traffic safety. ****** 117