Paris Pact Initiative in Beijing: Drug threat talks continue at the SCO Secretariat

For the second consecutive day, the SCO Secretariat in Beijing is hosting the Paris Pact Initiative meeting. The participants, who include representatives from 18 countries and ten international organisations, are paying special attention to collaboration within the framework of multilateral cooperation mechanisms and international and regional organisations in countering drug trafficking.

"The SCO actively contributes to solving the Afghan drug problem," said Chinese Deputy Minister of Public Security Liu Yuejin, adding that the organisation needs to "strengthen cooperation and bind together regional initiatives." The Deputy Minister stated that "the mechanisms for combating drugs, as well as regional initiatives like the Paris Pact, the Istanbul Process, the SCO cooperation mechanism for combating drugs and the UNODC cooperation initiatives must focus on strengthening coordination and cooperation in drug control at all levels and in all sectors, integrate their resources and complement each other's efforts to harmonise the work of the mechanisms and initiatives and yield practical results."

Paris Pact Coordinator Marie-Anne Menier noted the readiness of the Initiative participants to further strengthen cooperation with the SCO in implementing the Paris Pact mandate and putting into practice the recommendations from four thematic sections of the Vienna Declaration. Regional Representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in Afghanistan Mark Colhoun also welcomed the idea of promoting cooperation between the UNODC and the SCO.

The lengthy discussion mainly focused on promoting cooperation between the existing multilateral mechanisms for countering drug trafficking.