Following the International Anti-Drug Forum that was held in Moscow early this month, the director of the Centre for Regional Studies in Kabul, Abdul Ghafoor Lewal has presented a report at a news conference where he insisted on the need for fighting against drug threat and summed up the work of the forum.

According to the correspondent of the “Afghanistan.Ru” news portal, Lewal described the drug issue as “the biggest challenge to international security” after terrorism. He emphasized that he had witnessed the growing interest of Russia in solving the issue. This was confirmed by the participation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the forum.

Abdul Ghafoor Lewal focused on the social aspect of the issue of illegal drug trafficking. “The drug issue in Afghanistan can be solved only if the security and poverty issues are solved,” he said.

According to the Afghan expert, reports presented to the forum and its discussions paved the way for examining the issues of terrorism and drug trafficking, which are crucial for the two countries, and outlining the ways for promoting cooperation with the aim of solving the given issues. Abdul Ghafoor Lewal also emphasized the importance of promoting cooperation between Russia and other countries in this area. “At present, NATO, the U.S. and Russia have concluded that it is possible to help Afghanistan only by making joint efforts,” he said.

Abdul Ghafoor Lewal participated in the International Conference, “Afghan Drug Production – Challenge to the International Community”, that was held in Moscow from the 09th to the 10th of June. The Afghan delegation also included Counter Narcotics Minister, Zorar Ahmad Mokbel, the first deputy speaker of the Senate, Mohammad Allam Izidyar, the First Deputy Interior Minister, General Daud Daud and others. Among the others who took part in the conference were the heads of anti-drug and law enforcement agencies of many countries, politicians and officials from the United Nations, CSTO, NATO, SCO and several other international organizations.
      
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev opened the conference. He emphasized the need for consolidating the international community in fighting against drug industry. “This threat has long crossed all kinds of borders and clearly, you paid the attention to this issue and will pay. The issue concerns not only Russia and its neighbours but also a significant number of European states and the U.S. and Canada,” Dmitry Medvedev said. He described “political games over drug trafficking” as unacceptable.

The Russian Foreign Minister reminded about joint projects of the Russian Federation and NATO on training specialists for the Afghan drug control agencies. According to Sergei Lavrov, there is a need to activate international and regional organizations, such as SOC and CSTO in fighting drug trafficking. “We wish to bring the issue of fighting against drug threat before the UN Security Council,” the Russian Foreign Minister said. 

The head of Federal Drug Control Service, Victor Ivanov insisted on the need for creating a “broader international coalition” to fight against the drug threat. “Efforts by Afghanistan alone will be ineffective. Consequently, there is a need to coordinate efforts by the entire international community,” Victor Ivanov said.