On 23 November 2021, the regular meeting of the Council of National Coordinators of CARICC member states (hereinafter - CNC meeting) was held in the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Center for combating illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors (CARICC).

Formal opening of CNC meeting took place with participation of UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Ms. Ghada Waly who arrived with working visit to the countries of Central Asia.

The event which was held in a hybrid format, was also attended by the Ambassadors of Japan Mr. Yamada and the Consul General of the United States of America to Almaty Ms. Caroline Savage.

Director of CARICC, Major General of Militia R.A. Miralizoda, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Police Major General A.R. Zapparov, and the delegation from the UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia took part in the opening session of the CNC meeting.

Mr. E. Z. Turgumbayev, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, addressed the participants of the meeting with greeting video message.

Ms. G. Waly and other distinguished guests addressed the participants with welcoming speech.

During the CNC meeting, issues of improving the activities and contractual and legal framework of the Center were discussed. In addition, it was decided to include the Kingdom of Sweden as an Observer state of CARICC. The CNC members welcomed and made statements on the drug situation in CARICC member-states.

As the result of the CNC meeting there were adopted collective decisions aimed at increasing the effectiveness of interaction and expanding cooperation of CARICC with international partners in priority areas.

The program of the visit of UN Under-Secretary General Mrs. Ghada Waly also includes her participation in the signing and launching of the UNODC Program for Central Asia for 2022-2025 in Tashkent (Republic of Uzbekistan) on November 24 of 2021. The CARICC delegation headed by Mr. R.A. Miralizoda, Director of the Centre also travelled to Tashkent in order to participate in the launch of the Program.

CARICC as the permanent interstate body was established under the auspices of the United Nations to coordinate the efforts of the competent bodies of CARICC member states in countering transnational drug-related crime.

The member states of CARICC are the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Council of National Coordinators of the CARICC member states oversees the activities of the Center and determines the main directions of the Organization's activities. The CNC from each state includes the Head of the coordinating competent body and the Director of CARICC.