Six nations reaffirm commitment to cooperate in eliminating drug

YANGON, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Six signatory nations to a pact on drug control cooperation -- Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam reaffirmed in a declaration on Thursday their commitment to overcome and eliminate drug problems in the East Asian region.

The Nay Pyi Taw Declaration on drug control cooperation among the six nations was issued at the end of a one-day meeting held in the Myanmar capital, attended by ministers and representatives from the six countries as well as representatives from the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC).

The declaration expressed satisfaction over the efforts and progress made by the signatories through fruitful cooperation within various existing bilateral, sub-regional, regional and international drug control cooperation mechanisms.

The declaration appreciated the joint accomplishments of the signatories to the 1993 Memorandum of Understanding on Drug Control and of the UNODC in the areas of drug demand reduction, HIV prevention, alternative development, law enforcement, in particular cross border cooperation, criminal justice and international collaboration.

The declaration took note of the increasing manufacture and consumption of amphetamine-type stimulants along with rising opium cultivation which have undermined regional development at a significant cost to governments and citizens.

It also acknowledged that the combination of drug trafficking and other forms of transnational organized crime has posed a particular challenge to the stability and rule of law in border areas.

The MoU on drug control was first signed by four nations namely Myanmar, China, Laos and Thailand in 1993 through the coordination of the UNODC and the MoU was extended to Cambodia and Vietnam in 1995.

Liu Yuejin, Chinese delegation leader and permanent deputy secretary general of China's National Narcotics Control Commission, vowed at the meeting to continue cooperation with regional countries in drug elimination.

Lieutenant-General Ko Ko, who is chairman of Myanmar's Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control and minister of home affairs, warned that opium cultivation rebounded again in 2007 due to its basic changing trend.

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