Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Sept. 21 / Trend , H.Hasanov /
The United States and Turkmenistan formalized an extension of their ongoing cooperation in the fields of combating illegal narcotics and law enforcement in a signing ceremony held today at Turkmenistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The parties signed a fifth Amendment to the existing bilateral Letter of Agreement on Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement Assistance. Rashid Meredov, Deputy Chairman of Turkmenistan's Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed the Amendment on behalf of the Turkmenistan Government. Ambassador Robert E. Patterson signed the Amendment on behalf of the United States Government.
The Amendment extends support for the "Counternarcotics" project, designed to increase the investigative skills of counternarcotics officers and improve the State Counter Narcotics Center (SCNS) training facility. The goal of this project is to improve the interdiction and investigation skills of the Turkmen counternarcotics police through curriculum development and the donation of equipment to the SCNS Training Center.