Ninth MOU meeting on Drug Control Cooperation

On 5th of May, 2015, the 9th Review meeting of MOU on Sub-regional Drug Control Cooperation was held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The meeting was attended by the UNODC Executive Director, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, as well as Heads of the counter-narcotics organizations of five Central Asian states.  The Ninth meeting adopted a Declaration that stressed the importance and continued relevance of the Memorandum of Understanding on Sub-regional Drug Control Cooperation in contributing to enhanced regional and international cooperation to better counter trafficking of drugs and related illicit financial flows, especially within the framework of shared responsibility. It also reiterated the commitment of the MoU Parties to highlight the importance of robust regional and international cooperation as a contribution to consultations taking place worldwide in the context of the preparatory process leading up to the 2016 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS).

UNODC and five countries of Central Asia signed a new Programme of partnership for the period 2015-2019 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The agreement represents the key strategic framework under which UNODC provides technical assistance and advisory services in the region. The Programme was developed in an inclusive and participatory process through national and regional consultation mechanism. The new UNODC Programme for Central Asia, while supporting national capacity building, will actively contribute to a regional response to address drugs and crime challenges and better achieve the sustainable development goals, especially in regard to good governance and rule of law. The Programme builds on previous UNODC assistance and aims to deliver an integrated, comprehensive programme to address transnational organized crime, drugs and terrorism. With a budget of $70 million for a five-year period, the Programme for Central Asia supports both national capacity building, and further promotes sub-regional and regional cooperation. The Programme is a building block of UNODC's inter-regional drug control approach that provides a harmonized response to the existing and emerging issues faced by Central Asia and the wider region.

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