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Afghan Drug Trade in Spotlight

Afghan Drug Trade in Spotlight
Afghan Drug Trade in Spotlight

President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon said regional and international cooperation are vital preconditions to address illicit drugs and transnational organized crime.

He stressed the importance of promoting scientific evidence and health-based approaches for prevention and treatment of drug use, at a high-profile international conference in Dushanbe, jointly organized by Tajikistan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), earlier this week, to enhance international cooperation to combat illegal drugs.

He proposed that the years from 2016 to 2020 should be devoted to “global measures towards prevention of addiction and promotion of healthy lifestyles.”

 The confab was attended by senior drug control officials from over 20 countries including Iran, and intergovernmental organizations.

UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov, in a video message, noted that according to the UNODC’s 2014 Afghanistan Opium Survey, the production of opium in that country increased 17 percent, reaching 6,400 tons.

The conference provides a good opportunity to analyze regional cooperation and coordination in view of the threats posed by opiates originating in Afghanistan.

The recommendations of the conference will strengthen combined efforts and allow other countries currently preparing for the UN General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem (UNGASS) from April 19-21, 2016, to benefit from the valuable experiences and achievements,” he said, reports UNODC.org

 Enhancing Coop

Enhancing cooperation among Kabul’s neighbors is the only way to achieve positive results in the fight against drug trafficking from Afghanistan, said Mahmoud Bayat, director-general of international affairs at Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Headquarters.

He noted that increased cultivation of poppy in Afghanistan had adverse consequences in the region and beyond.

Delegates discussed how best to comprehensively address the global and interconnected challenges posed by transnational organized crime, illicit drug trafficking, terrorism and drug abuse.

Representatives from Afghanistan, Armenia, Belarus, Germany, Iran, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Aga Khan Development Network and UNODC, attended the confab.

 

Financialtribune.com