CSTO experts to discuss war on drugs in Minsk
MINSK. November 28. KAZINFORM A regular session of the coordinating council of chiefs of competent bodies in charge of counteracting the illegal turnover of drugs of the Collective Security Treaty Organization member states will take place in Minsk on 28 November, representatives of the Belarusian Interior Ministry told BelTA.
The event will gather delegations of competent bodies of the CSTO member states (Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan), representatives of government agencies of Belarus and the CSTO secretariat. A delegation from Ukraine will be present as guests.
Participants of the session are expected to discuss performance of the council in 2013 and future areas of work. Action plans will be adopted for the council's working groups on information sharing, cooperation in search and retrieval of criminals and missing persons, personnel training, and interagency cooperation in prevention efforts in 2014. The forum will also make decisions to improve the joint efforts of antidrug agencies of the CSTO member states in counteracting transboundary drug crimes, BelTA reports.
Apart from that, participants of the event will discuss ways to raise the effectiveness of the regional antidrug operation Kanal and the promotion of cooperation between the council and other international organizations that counteract the drug threat. The agenda will also include discussions about the establishment of the center for antidrug operations of the CSTO member states and the adjustment of the draft CSTO antidrug strategy for 2014-2020.