Rashid Alimov: The acute drug threat calls for involving the huge potential of SCO cooperation. The SCO Secretary-General addressed a meeting of senior officials of the SCO agencies responsible for combating drug trafficking

Rashid Alimov attended a meeting of the Senior Officials of Competent Authorities for Combatting Illicit Drug Trafficking held in Tianjin, China, on 17 May 2018.

"The leaders of the SCO countries view the fight against the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors as a priority. The drug threat has not subsided, and hence we must make the most effective use possible of the huge potential of the SCO countries' cooperation in this sphere," the SCO Secretary-General said. He added that this potential had grown considerably with the admission of India and Pakistan to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as full members.

Mr Alimov pointed out that the concerned agencies of eight SCO member states seized 160 tonnes of heroin and over 1,400 tonnes of marijuana (38 percent of these drugs confiscated in Eurasia), plus 1,500 tonnes of hashish (26 percent) and 300 tonnes of opium (9 percent) between 2011 and the first half of 2017.

He added: "These figures reflect the joint efforts taken by the SCO countries in the fight against the evil of narcotic drugs. These efforts have been acclaimed internationally. However, there are also ways to combat this evil throughout the Eurasian continent." Rashid Alimov pointed out the need to "promote practical interaction in the fight against the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances as well as their precursors."

The SCO Secretary-General also spoke about another common concern: increasing drug addiction in the SCO countries. This problem can be mitigated through the implementation of the coordinated draft SCO concept of the prevention of drug and psychotropic abuse.

Rashid Alimov stressed the importance of cooperation with other international organisations and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. "The existing ties are further developed and strengthened due to the success of the high-level side events on the UN and the SCO in the fight against drugs held during the sessions of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs," the SCO Secretary-General said. "The upcoming expert meeting of the Paris Pact Initiative, which will be held at the SCO Secretariat, will reaffirm the high international status of the SCO in this sphere."

A film was shown to those at the gathering about the SCO countries' efforts against drugs.

The meeting of the Senior Officials of Competent Authorities for Combatting Illicit Drug Trafficking was followed by a news conference, which was attended by SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov and Liang Yun, Executive Deputy Director of China's National Narcotics Control Commission (CNNCC).