Major General Khamking Phouilamanivong (fourth from left) seen with senior police officers at the meeting on counter-narcotics cooperation in the greater Mekong sub-region in Boeko province.

Laos, Mekong sub-region countries team up to counter drug trafficking

The Lao government will step up cooperation with Mekong sub-region countries to control and tackle the problem of drug trafficking in the region.
Senior police officers attended a meeting on counter-narcotics cooperation in the greater Mekong sub-region that was held at the Gold Triangle Special Economic Zone in Bokeo province yesterday. The meeting was an opportunity for the officers to present and exchange experiences and ideas to assess the problem of drug trafficking and to jointly tackle challenges.
The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Public Security, Major General Khamking Phouilamanivong, and it was attended by Bokeo province’s Deputy Governor, Dr Khamphaya Phompanya, representatives from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to Laos, senior police officers and diplomatic delegations from Laos, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar.
The meeting also marked the International Anti-Drug Day, which is observed on June 26 every year, and the Lao officials encouraged the implementation of the government’s national agenda to solve the drug problem.
Laos is one of the Mekong sub-region  countries directly affected by and facing the threat of the drug problem, Major General Khamking said.
Currently, drugs have a serious impact on all genders, all ages and all classes of people throughout society, including students, traders, workers, the unemployed and some employees and civil servants, he said. This has had an impact on socio-economic development and affected political stability and order and security in society, he added.
The government always sees the importance of this issue and pays attention to cooperation with different countries to prevent and control the problem. It is a party to the three International Conventions on the Suppression of Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, and has signed bilateral cooperation memorandums on drug prevention with 13 countries. Laos has also signed a memorandum of understanding bilaterally with neighbouring countries for multilateral cooperation in the ASEAN and Mekong River regions and for enacting anti-narcotics laws.
Major General Khamking said that in order to tackle the problem of drugs, the Lao Ministry of Public Security has held discussions and cooperated with many parties, both public and private, to encourage the implementation of the national agenda to solve the drug problem. The ministry is working seriously to promote cooperation and social participation to ensure the effective implementation of this agenda.
The meeting of the countries of the Mekong sub-region is an important and necessary part of effective cooperation to suppress and fight against drug trafficking.
In the past, cooperation to tackle the problem of drugs in the region has been promoted and encouraged through assistance, the exchange of information, and promotion of capacity building.
During the meeting, the delegations of all the countries reported on the state of drug trafficking within their territories. All the delegations participated in the official opening ceremony of the Anti-drug Culture and Creative Activities Museum at Done Sao Island in the Gold Triangle Special Economic Zone. The museum is an important exhibition centre to educate people about the efforts of the zone to counter narcotics. The 4th Half Marathon 2024 is another activity to wean people away from drugs and to highlight the dangers posed by narcotics. 

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update June 25, 2024)