DUSHANBE
, July 28, Asia-Plus — The presidents of
Tajikistan
and
Afghanistan
yesterday called on the international community to help suppress illegal drug production.
Countering a growing flow of drugs was in the center of Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov’s discussion with his Afghan counterpart, President Hamid Karzai, in
Dushanbe
.
The pointed to the necessity of working out a special program for preventing drug addiction and elicit production of drugs.
Mr. Karzai noted that
Afghanistan
has implemented a national strategy on combating drug trafficking drafted in cooperation with the international community. However, there are problems with financing of the fight against drug trafficking, according to him.
“
Afghanistan
intends to eradicate all drug-containing crops on its territory and thereby to provide stability in the country,” the Afghan leader said.
Telling the briefing after their meeting, Rahmonov and Karzai called on the international community to help alternative agricultural crops that Afghan farmers could grow instead of opium.
A joint communiqu? signed by the president of
Tajikistan
and
Afghanistan
, in particular, calls for the creation a regional center for combating drugs. The document also stresses that international terrorism and transnational crime also affect stability and security in the region. In this connection, the two countries intend to strengthen interaction in fighting these negative phenomena.



