Central Asian countries vow to jointly fight drug trafficking
Member countries of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Sub-regional Drug Control Cooperation called for greater efforts to counter illicit trafficking of drugs and the abuse of drugs and psychotropic substances. The countries called for greater cooperation with international organizations and the United Nation's Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Xinhua reports.
"It is absolutely clear that in the modern global world no single state can alone withstand the challenges associated with drug trafficking," said Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov in his speech at the opening of the 11th meeting of the member states to the MoU.
"Only by combining efforts and resources, experience and knowledge, we can make progress in countering drug trafficking and related transnational threats," he added.
The meeting was attended by delegations from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives of the UNODC and the Aga Khan Development Organization.
Member states to the MoU also emphasized that illicit trafficking of drugs and their precursors not only undermine human health and well being, but also threatens the socio-economic development, security and political stability of the region and the international community.
One of the main sources of the drug threat in Central Asia remains Afghanistan, which according to the Uzbek foreign minister accounts for more than 90 percent of global opium production.
