Action to speed up the reduction of poppy cultivation to meet United Nations targets is being considered by China and several Southeast Asian countries.
The deliberations were revealed yesterday in Beijing following a three-day meeting of the senior officials of the signatory countries of the 1993 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Drug Control.
"We urge (our governments) to work closely with the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) to establish a reliable and sustainable system for monitoring and verification of illicit opium poppy cultivation," the countries stated in their Beijing Declaration.
It was announced after senior officials from China, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Viet Nam and UNDCP concluded their meeting.
They were deeply concerned about the rapid increase and seriousness of illicit production, trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances - especially amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS).
Statistics from UNDCP reveal more than 80 per cent of global seizures of ATS in 2000 took place in east and southeast Asia. And about half of the world's population using ATS are in these regions.
The countries also committed themselves to undertaking joint cultural and sport activities against drugs, creating public awareness on the threat to human security imposed by narcotic drugs and promoting better understanding between peoples, especially among the youth of MOU countries.
"To tackle the thorny situation, we should work together," said Yang Fengrui, deputy secretary-general of the National Narcotics Control Commission.
Sources with the Ministry of Public Security said the six countries committed to the MOU annually attend a separate meeting at ministerial and senior officials level.
The next MOU ministerial meeting will be held in Viet Nam next May.
At the first ministerial meeting of the six signatory countries to the MOU, which was held in Beijing in 1995, the countries adopted the Subregional Plan comprising of 12 co-operation projects covering all sectors of drug control.
The Subregional Action Plan programme includes projects with a total budget of more than US$22 million.
China and Laos also held a bilateral meeting on drug control yesterday.
China made a commitment to the Laos Government that it is determined to continuously help its neighbour train personnel in drug control and offer technical aid.
(China Daily May 23, 2002)
