2005 Press Releases
Ashgabat Hosts Regional Counternarcotics Coordination Conference
March 29, 2005
On March 29-30, 2005, the Government of Turkmenistan and the U.N. Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNODC) with the support of the U.S. Embassy will hold the Regional Counternarcotics Coordination Conference in Ashgabat. Law enforcement officers in charge of counternarcotic programs from the Governments of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, United Kingdom, United States and Uzbekistan will participate in the conference.
The Turkmen State Counternarcotic Commission Chief, the Deputy Regional UNODC Representative and the U.S. Ambassador to Turkmenistan made welcoming remarks.
Addressing participants of the conference, the Ambassador Jacobson said: "It is crucial for the law enforcement agencies to work against criminal narcotics rings in an international arena. Cooperation is the key to successfully fighting the scourge of international drug trafficking."
The forum will focus on promoting coordination of regional counternarcotic efforts and develop recommendations to support further cooperation. The conference will aim at developing bilateral and regional law enforcement initiatives, establishing contacts between relevant law enforcement officers, allowing the exchange of information on current and planned regional counternarcotic efforts and examining other international efforts against illegal drug trafficking. Presentations will include Identifying and Combating Drug Trafficking Organizations, Precursor Chemical Control, Drug Demand Reduction, and Regional Coordination of Counternarcotic Efforts. The theme of the meeting is "How we can best work together."
The U.S. Embassy's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Program supported the organization of the conference. The INL projects are specifically designed to improve the capability of the host countries' law enforcement agencies in its efforts against narcotics and organized crime.
