Baku, Azerbaijan, April 15
By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:
The 36th International Drug Enforcement Conference is being held in Baku, Trend reports on April 15.
The conference, organized with the active participation of the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee and dedicated to the topic "Mobilization of global partners", aims at bringing together high-ranking officials involved in the global fight against illicit drug trafficking, discussing the ways to solve this problem, exchanging views and best practices.
While addressing the conference, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Novruz Mammadov said that the Azerbaijani foreign policy is based on mutual effective and fruitful cooperation with all countries.
“Azerbaijan actively participates in all global platforms to contribute to the strengthening of international peace,” Mammadov said.
He stressed that drug addiction and illicit drug trafficking are among the most serious problems.
"Illicit drug trafficking also poses big threats to international security as a source of terrorism financing,” Mammadov said.
In turn, Chairman of Azerbaijan’s State Commission on Combating Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking Ali Hasanov said that three state programs have been successfully implemented in Azerbaijan in the fight against drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
Hasanov noted that there is a serious struggle in Azerbaijan against illicit drug trafficking using modern technologies, and big cargoes of drugs have been recently withdrawn from circulation.
In turn, Chairman of the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee Safar Mehdiyev emphasized that 16 drug trafficking gangs were revealed over three months of 2019 and 520 kilograms of drugs were withdrawn from circulation thanks to the taken measures.
While delivering speech at the event, US ambassador to Azerbaijan Earle Litzenberger said that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner of the US in the fight against international terrorism and makes an important contribution to ensuring international peace.
By conducting such activities, the country makes a significant contribution to the fight against illicit drug trafficking, Litzenberger added.
The 36th International Drug Enforcement Conference, organized by the Azerbaijani State Commission on Combating Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking together with the Drug Enforcement Administration of the US Department of Justice kicked off in Baku on April 15.
The proposal about holding the international conference in Azerbaijan was obtained from the Drug Enforcement Administration of the US Department of Justice.
The international conference, which brought together about 500 representatives from over 150 countries, will create conditions for the use of modern methods of combating illicit drug trafficking.
The foundation of this unique platform was laid in 1983 in Panama. Then the conference has become a global forum in which representatives from more than 130 countries participate.
During the conference, which will last until April 17, new messages on the fight against illicit drug trafficking will be sent from Baku to the world.
