On April 19-20, 2012 the GUAM Secretariat in Kyiv, Ukraine hosted the 10th meeting of the Working Sub-Group on Combating Drug Trafficking (WGSDT), which took place under Azerbaijan’s chairmanship.
The delegations exchanged information on the development of national legislation, the operational situation, and measures taken by GUAM member states in terms of counteracting the illegal circulation of narcotics, psychotropic substances and their precursors.
The Working Sub-Group examined practical issues with respect to GUAM participation in the UNODC Afghan Opiate Trade Project (AOTP).
A video conference with the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan was also held during the meeting. Special attention was paid to the issues of Afghanistan’s participation in the AOTP, the exchange of information, including on the precursors of narcotics, and further cooperation.
The Working Sub-Group discussed issues of developing expert conclusions on the crime situation and tendencies in terms of illegal drug trafficking within the GUAM member states.
The Working Sub-Group agreed to conduct the joint measures “Narcostop-2012” with the involvement of the relevant state bodies of the GUAM member states.
In the context of regional cooperation, the Working Sub-Group emphasis, in particular, the rather important character of developing cooperation between GUAM and the Southeast European Law Enforcement Center (SELEC).
The outcomes of the meeting were reflected in the resultant Protocol. The next meeting of the Working Sub-Group is scheduled to take place in October 2012 in Baku.
