On January 31, 2023, an extraordinary meeting of the Council of National Coordinators (CNC) of the participating States of the Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Center for Combating Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Their Precursors (CARICC/Center) was held online.

Delegations of CARICC member states, UNODC International Program Coordinator Mr. Yusuf Kurbonov, as well as the Director and staff of the Center attended the event.

The meeting was chaired by the Head of the Department for Combating Drug Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Kh.Imazhanov.

At the meeting, the Director of the Center A. Yazlyev provided information on the current financial situation in CARICC. Y. Kurbonov also reported on the measures taken to ensure the financial stability of CARICC as a UNODC project.

The meeting participants discussed current and future issues of financing the activities of the Center, following which the relevant decisions were made.

In accordance with the invitation of the Italian side, on January 12, 2023, a meeting of the CARICC delegation headed by Director Atageldy Yazlyev with the delegation of the Central Directorate for Combating Drugs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Italy headed by Director Antonio Maggiore took place in Rome.

During the meeting, delegations discussed current and future issues of cooperation in the fight against illicit drug trafficking, including through the organization of international operations using the controlled drug delivery method.

The parties exchanged views on the possibility of organizing joint anti-drug operations, exchanging information on the drug situation and experience in the field of combating drug trafficking and information and analytical direction.

The director of the DCSA of the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs, A.Maggiore, presented information on the structure, functions and tasks of the Italian police. He reported on the implemented joint operations and expressed hope for the intensification of cooperation with the countries of the Central Asian region.

Further, on January 13, a meeting was held with the heads of the structural divisions of the CUBN, during which issues of bilateral cooperation were discussed.

The DCSA experts provided information on the Italian legislation in the field of investigative activities in the framework of organizing international anti-drug operations using the controlled delivery method.

The analysts highlighted information on the development of the drug situation in Italy and some indicators in the field of combating drug trafficking in this country.

Italian specialists informed about the trainings, including for foreign partners in online and offline formats. A presentation was made on the activities of the department at the CUBN DrugOnline to prevent the spread of drugs using the Internet.

At the end of the meeting, an agreement was reached on building up cooperation between CARICC and the CUBN of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Italy in the above areas of joint activities.

On December 15, 2022, a meeting of the CARICC delegation headed by the Director, Lieutenant Colonel A.Yazlyev, took place in Astana. with the Deputy Head of the Japanese diplomatic mission in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Kanata Tomohiro.

The Director of CARICC briefly informed about the activities of the Center, its goals and objectives to assist in coordinating and supporting the efforts of the countries of the region in the fight against drug trafficking and countering drug trafficking, the results of analytical work on monitoring the drug situation and forecasting its development, as well as the current and future plans of the Organization.

During the talks, the parties exchanged views on the state and prospects of international cooperation, discussed issues of joint cooperation within the framework of UN anti-drug projects funded by the Japanese side, as well as the study by the Embassy of Japan in Kazakhstan of the issue of allocating donor funds for the CARICC project.

In turn, Mr. K. Tomohiro emphasized the importance of CARICC as a regional anti-drug organization that has achieved positive results in practical activities that are important for the participating states and the region as a whole.

The commitment of the Japanese side to the expansion of financial and technical assistance to Afghanistan and the Central Asian region through the prism of international organizations, including projects implemented under the auspices of the UN, was noted.

As a result of the meeting, in order to resume the procedure for considering by the Japanese side the possibility of providing financial support to CARICC, an agreement was reached on sending a corresponding appeal to the Embassy of Japan in the Republic of Kazakhstan, with an emphasis on the implementation of projects in the Central Asian region, which are the developments of the Center's employees.

Mr. A. Yazlyev thanked the Japanese side for the support provided by CARICC and UNODC and expressed readiness to intensify cooperation in the implementation of joint anti-drug projects.

In accordance with the invitation of the General Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, CARICC delegation headed by the Director of the Center Lieutenant Colonel A.Yazlyev took part in the meeting of the Coordinating Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan on ensuring the rule of law, law and order and the fight against crime, held on December 15, 2022 in Astana.

It consists of the first heads of law enforcement and special bodies, heads and representatives of other interested ministries and departments of Kazakhstan are invited to participate.

The issues of the effectiveness of the activities of the authorized state bodies to combat drug trafficking and judicial and investigative practice in cases of this category for 2020-2021 and the past period of 2022 were considered.

Director of CARICC informed about the current activities of the Center, as one of the large-scale and significant projects of UNODC in Central Asia, the drug situation in the countries of Central Asia, as well as the role of the Center in the organization of international cooperation and interaction with law enforcement agencies and specialized educational institutions of Kazakhstan and other countries of the region.

Priority importance during the meeting of the Council was given to the measures taken to fulfill the instructions of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, announced as part of the Message to the people of Kazakhstan on September 1 of this year, to develop a draft Comprehensive Plan to Combat Drug Abuse and drug business for 2023-2025.

Considering that interaction with the law enforcement agencies of the participating states is a priority task of CARICC, Mr. Yazlyev the support of the Center for the proposal of the Kazakh side was emphasized to assist in the development of the draft Comprehensive Plan.

The meeting participants were informed that in solving this problem, the Center provided practical and methodological assistance to the authorized body - the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan, including with the direction of generalized materials on the development of strategic and policy documents in the anti-drug sphere, adopted in the CARICC member states over the past 10 years.

In addition, at the suggestion of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the basis of the Center on December 1 this year. an international briefing was organized on the presentation of the draft Comprehensive Plan, with the participation of the heads of the anti-drug structures of the participating states of the Center, representatives of the observer countries - Belarus, the United States, international organizations - UNODC, OSCE, CSTO and SCO, as well as interested state bodies of Kazakhstan.

Its holding at a high international level made it possible to discuss the project document in detail, exchange constructive views for their accounting by the developer when implementing the instructions of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In conclusion, Mr. Yazlyev proposed on the expediency of disseminating the Comprehensive Plan in the CARICC member states and international organizations, partners and donors after its approval by the Government of Kazakhstan.

In addition, on the margins of the meeting of the Coordinating Council, a meeting was held between the Director of CARICC, Mr. Yazlyev with the Deputy Chairman of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan A.Amerkhanov and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan E.Sadenov.

Issues of practical cooperation were discussed during the meeting in the field of combating drug trafficking, information exchange, international joint operations, as well as other issues of CARICC activities.

Information was provided on the measures taken to address the issues of financing CARICC by donor countries, including measures that provide for assistance by the Center in conducting special anti-drug operations, including controlled deliveries.

Representatives of the Kazakh side confirmed their interest in further developing and strengthening practical contacts with CARICC, and expressed support in considering issues of ensuring its smooth functioning in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry of Kazakhstan.

In turn, the Director of CARICC expressed gratitude to the Kazakh side for the support provided to the activities of the Center, including financial ones, and also expressed hope for further support in resolving issues of developing the activities of the Organization.