On April 20, 2026, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Nurlan Yermekbayev met with Bo Mathiasen, Director of the Division for Operations at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The meeting took place at the UNODC side’s initiative.
The Secretary-General informed his counterpart about the ongoing work in the anti-drug direction, including the functioning of the three-level cooperation mechanism of anti-drug agencies, as well as the annual joint events with UNODC held on the sidelines of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. He noted the work underway to establish the SCO Anti-Drug Center in Dushanbe as a specialized permanent body.
“The drug threat can be effectively countered only by consolidating multilateral efforts and establishing broad international cooperation,” Nurlan Yermekbayev emphasized.
The UNODC representative noted the effective work being carried out on the anti-drug track within the SCO and expressed UNODC’s interest in continuing cooperation with the SCO Secretariat.
Bo Mathiasen highlighted the rise in crimes involving the use of the internet, the darknet, encrypted communication platforms, and cryptocurrencies for the illicit trafficking of prohibited substances.
The parties agreed on the imperative of stepping up information exchange, including statistical data, in the fight against the drug threat.