Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam Join Hands to Combat DrugsCambodia, Laos and Vietnam have inked a Joint Declaration on Drug Control Cooperation on June 13, 2001 after concluding their trilateral meeting, focusing on further cooperation in combating illicit drugs.On June 12, 2001, senior officials of Cambodia separately held meetings with high-level officials from Laos and Vietnam on effectively fighting against drug-related activities and reached consensus on strengthening cooperation in dealing with drug problems. The meetings reflected the efforts and determination of drug authorities of the three countries in expanding their friendly cooperation in preventing production, trafficking, and abuse of illicit drugs. The further cooperation in the area between Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam is in pursuit of Drug Free ASEAN 2015 which is set up in an international congress in Bangkok. The three countries expressed their strong determination to fight drug crimes in view of the fact that illicit drug trade, either in the region or in the world, is increasingly threatening economic development efforts among developing countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Under the guidance of the decision adopted by United Nations' Special Assembly of 1998 and the Joint Declaration of the 33rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok in July, 2000, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam have decided to enhance their links, which include regularly exchange information from the central level to the district level, as well as exchange experiences in suppression and treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts. They also agreed to exchange study visits among them, especially implement collaborative searches for drugs along border crossing areas. The three countries were firmly committed to suppressing the production, trafficking and trade of illicit drugs, psychotropic substances across borders and coordination in investigation and sentencing of drug traffickers in the three countries. They have agreed to push for cooperation between provinces, districts and other localities on border areas, and holding regular meetings to discuss realistic measures for combating drugs. The three parties have also pledged to exchange legal documents among them in order to study the existing legal systems to make them more effective, in addition to providing each other drug awareness campaign documents that have been proven successful. Urgent assistance from international community has been emphasized in the joint declaration in order to strengthen the law enforcement capacity, drugs demand and supply reductions and carry out campaign to educate people to know the danger of drugs. They have decided to hold annual trilateral meeting between high-level officials of national drug authorities of the three countries to continuously deepen their cooperation in anti-drug activities. |
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