On 3 March, SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov met with Director of the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Sherkhon Salimzoda on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna.
Vladimir Norov briefly spoke about anti-drug cooperation among SCO member states. He praised Dushanbe's contribution to the joint work. He also thanked the Tajik side for participating in the high-level event titled SCO and UNODC in the Fight against the Illicit Drug Threat: Countering Drug Trafficking via Darknet.
In turn, Sherkhon Salimzoda provided information on the drug situation in Tajikistan and the efforts of Tajik law enforcement authorities to counter the spread of prohibited substances and curb the flow of drugs from Afghanistan.
The officials discussed practical measures for carrying out the Working Plan on the implementation of the Action Programme to Implement the SCO Anti-Drug Strategy and for countering drug trafficking via the hidden web. They also spoke about creating new SCO mechanisms that regulate cooperation in the fight against the drug threat, as well as establishing a dialogue in international and regional organisations to address anti-drug issues.
They agreed to step up their anti-drug cooperation in the SCO in the context of Tajikistan's upcoming SCO presidency in 2020-2021.