Vienna (Austria), 22 February 2021 - The Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Ghada Waly, and the Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in Vienna, Takeshi Hikihara, exchanged funding agreements worth US$ 16.5 million.
The agreements support key UNODC projects for the fiscal year 2021-2022, including on terrorism prevention and countering violent extremism, maritime crime, border control and management, drug demand reduction, and supporting counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan.
Ms. Waly thanked Japan for its generous contribution towards UNODC's activities: "Although the pandemic has impacted the operations of UNODC, especially at the field level, our staff will make the best efforts to deliver the expected results of the programmes supported by Japan," she said.
Mr. Hikihara commended the expertise of UNODC and its past activities in a wide area that has enabled Japan to provide such contributions. “We hope that Japan's contribution will produce meaningful results,” he said.
The contribution will enable a more focussed and tailored COVID-19 response to changes in the criminal landscape and infection control in prisons, covering Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan and its neighboring countries, as well as in the eastern and western Indian Ocean.
