On December 15-16, 2021, a meeting of the Working Group of Experts on Cross-Border Cooperation of the Paris Pact Initiative was held in Moscow in a hybrid format.

The delegation from CARICC headed by the Director, Major General of Militia Miralizoda Rustam Aziz attended this event.

The meeting, which was chaired by the Russian side, was also attended by delegations from the Central Asian countries, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, France, experts from the UNODC, the executive committee of the CIS, the CSTO, the EAG and other international structures.

During the meeting, an exchange of views took place on topical issues of combating the illicit trafficking of Afghan opiates, practical experience and methods of suppressing international drug trafficking, issues of better coordination of law enforcement agencies, as well as international and regional organizations in the fight against drugs were discussed.

Within the framework of the thematic sessions, the presentations “CARICC as a leading platform for regional and international cooperation in countering drug trafficking and drug crime” and “Multilateral cooperation within CARICC - results and prospects” made by the Director of CARICC Miralizoda R.A.

In his report, the Director of CARICC drew attention to the work carried out by the Center to collect, synthesize and analyze information to assist CARICC member countries in preparing national anti-drug strategies. He noted about a number of operations carried out with the assistance of CARICC with the participation of member states and observers of the Center, as well as other countries of Asia and Europe. He emphasized that for the continuous functioning of CARICC, it is necessary to increase the financial assistance of the Center by the international community.

The CARICC Director expressed the hope that the proposals adopted at the Expert Working Group meeting would allow the international community to develop new effective mechanisms to counter the serious threats posed by the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors. He called for more active development of international anti-drug cooperation, primarily in the framework of CARICC, as well as expanding the exchange of information and experience in countering transnational drug crime.

As part of the event, the CARICC delegation also took part in the Tenth Steering Committee Meeting of the UNODC Regional Program for Afghanistan and Neighboring Countries.

At the meeting, the Director of CARICC noted that in the context of the rapidly changing situation and the growth of the drug threat in the region, the role and importance of UN agencies and specialized regional organizations are increasing. He informed that CARICC, as one of the significant projects of the UNODC in Central Asia, will closely cooperate with the Regional Program in achieving common goals and objectives.