The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states are committed to tackling the growing threats posed by the increased production, trafficking and abuse of narcotic drugs, and the use of proceeds from drug trafficking in financing terrorism, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov asserted on Tuesday at the opening of the expert working group meeting on regional cooperation under the Paris Pact Initiative (PPI) in Beijing.

"For the first time, the Paris Pact Initiative meeting is held on hospitable Chinese soil, and the SCO Secretariat is the host. It is gratifying that 70 delegates at the level of leaders and senior officials from 18 countries and 10 international organizations are taking part in today's meeting," Alimov said in his welcome address.

PPI was launched in 2003 as a broad international coalition, which today comprises 58 partner countries and 23 organizations, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's (UNODC). The coalition has since evolved into one of the most important frameworks for combating illicit traffic in opiates originating in Afghanistan.

China's first counter-terrorism chief Liu Yuejin, UNODC's Afghanistan office representative Mark Colhoun and PPI coordinator Marie-Anne Menier were among the top officials attending the inaugural session, which was chaired by UNODC's Tofik Murshudlu.

"The Beijing meeting of the Paris Pact high-level experts provides a good opportunity to learn from each other's experience and exchange information on best practices in countering the threat of drugs," the SCO Secretary-General added.

Over the next three days, drug control agencies from PPI and SCO member countries and partner organizations – such as Interpol, Europol, Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CAFICC), GCC Criminal Information Center to Combat Drugs (GCC-CICCD), and Southeast European Law Enforcement Center (SELEC) – will meet and deliberate on increasing regional and cross-border cooperation to deal with the menace of illegal narcotics trade.

Drug control, along with separatism, terrorism, extremism and cybersecurity, has been among the top security challenges on the SCO agenda as well and the Eurasian organization has closely worked with UNODC on narcotics control.

The PPI's Beijing meeting "is a result of our close cooperation with UNODC," said Alimov, adding that "in recent years, it has become a tradition to hold joint events on the sidelines of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs with the theme of 'SCO against drugs'."

The SCO member states advocate the need to develop a joint and balanced approach in countering the illicit drug trafficking and its precursors, including through the Internet, Alimov proposed.

"To eliminate the challenges posed by the world drug problem, not only a thoughtful, carefully weighted and coordinated response at the national and regional levels is required, but also practical interaction and cooperation at the global level," he added.

Drug control and law enforcement agencies from SCO member states accounted for the confiscation of nearly 40 percent of illicit heroin and marijuana and over a quarter of hashish seizures across Eurasia between 2011 and 2017, Alimov informed.

"Over 180 tonnes of heroin and 340 tons of opium, almost 1,500 tons of marijuana and 1,600 tons of hashish were seized by the competent authorities of eight SCO member states. These figures reflect the real capabilities of the SCO member states to effectively resist narcotic evil throughout the Eurasian space," he elaborated.

Stressing that practical cooperation in combating illicit drug trafficking is carried out within SCO according to anti-drug strategies for five years, Alimov said: "The last Anti-Drug Strategy for 2018-2023 was adopted four months ago at the SCO Summit in Qingdao. It points to the need to further deepen cooperation with the UNODC, including the Paris Pact initiative."

[Cover: Shanghai Cooperation Organization Secretary-General Rashid Alimov (center) delivers the welcome speech during the inaugural session of the expert working group meeting on regional cooperation under the Paris Pact Initiative, hosted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Beijing, China, Nov. 13, 2018. /Photo via SCO]