DUSHANBE, November 29, 2013, Asia-Plus – A three-day conference to discuss cooperation between Tajikistan and Afghanistan on drug control will kick off in Dushanbe on November 30.
Tajikistan’s Drug Control Agency (DCA) press center reported on November 29 that an Afghan delegation, led by the head of the drug control department of the Ministry of Frontiers, Nations and Tribal Affairs, has arrived in Dushanbe to discuss drug control cooperation with Tajikistan.
The main objective of the conference is in bringing together drug control officials at regional level, representatives of communities, as well as donors to discuss drug trafficking challenges, the source said.
The conference is expected to discuss new initiatives with laying special stress on border security and transboundary cooperation to address drug trafficking threats.
According to the 2013 Afghanistan Opium Survey released by the Ministry of Counter Narcotics and UNODC in Kabul on November 213, 2013, opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan rose 36 per cent in 2013. Meanwhile, opium production amounted to 5,500 tons, up by almost a half since 2012.
