May 10, 2013, Friday
YANGON: China and five Southeast Asian nations vowed yesterday to
boost cooperation in the fight against illegal drugs, which they warned
posed a ‘significant threat’ to the region.
The pledge came at the
end of a meeting of ministers or representatives from Cambodia, China,
Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw.
“Consumption and production of narcotic drugs continues to grow rapidly
within the region and worldwide, constituting a significant threat to
the East Asian region,” according to a joint statement adopted at the
meeting.
The countries agreed to tighten cross-border cooperation,
step up alternative development programmes and share experience in drug
use prevention, treatment and public awareness raising exercises.
The region has seen a surge in production of amphetamine-type stimulants in recent years.
Myanmar
recently pushed back by five years its goal of eliminating drug
production by 2014, following a rebound in poppy cultivation in the
impoverished country, which is emerging from decades of military rule. —
AFP
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