On Tuesday, head of the Russian Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov met with visiting Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar in Moscow and discussed cooperation in fighting against drug trafficking from Afghanistan.
The Iranian Minister said that the Afghan drug threat was largely linked to the activity of NATO forces in Afghanistan. “The drug production in the country has increased by 40 times since the deployment of NATO forces to Afghanistan. There is a large amount of opium reserves in warehouses. Unfortunately, destabilization and the absence of security are growing.
The two sides agreed on working out operative information sharing mechanism and carrying out joint anti-drug operations, including the fighting against the supply of precursors to Afghanistan, on permanent involvement of Iran in the regional anti-drug operation “Kanal” and on the exchange of experience in fighting against drug trafficking and drug addition.
As a result of the talks, the two sides signed a protocol on cross-border cooperation between Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service and Iran’s relevant agency, and a plan of joint actions to prevent drug trafficking from Afghanistan for 2012-2014.
