The Preparatory Meetings of Baghdad 2nd Drug Control Conference kicks off

 

Baghdad – INA

 

The preparatory meetings for the Second Baghdad International Conference on Drug Control commenced on Saturday.
 
Lt. Gen. Ziad Taha Ali, Advisor to the Minister of Interior, told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that "the Ministry of Interior has taken the initiative to invite regional and neighbouring countries to address the issue of drug control," noting that "last year; the first conference was held at the level of heads of drug control security services."
 
He added that "the participation level of the agencies has now been elevated to the ministerial level for the same countries that participated in the seventh conference," indicating that a final statement will be issued on Monday by the ministers participating in the conference.
 
He emphasized that this "conference is important and aims to reduce drug trafficking, enhance security coordination, and improve intelligence cooperation in combating drugs."
 
The official spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, Brig. Gen. Moqdad Miri, confirmed to INA that "the goal of this international conference is to unify efforts by bringing these countries together in preparation for the conference," noting that "the purpose of this conference is to combat drug crimes as they are international cross border crimes, and no country can combat this crime alone."
 
Maj. Gen. Khaled Al-Muhanna, Director of the Department of Relations and Information at the Ministry of Interior stated that "the Ministry of Interior succeeded in establishing a system of international and regional cooperation to confront the drug threat through the first conference held last year," pointing out that "it is hoped that this second conference will further enhance and promote cooperation and establish a permanent headquarters in Iraq, considering that drugs today pose a threat to global communities. The nature of drug crime is that it is a cross-border crime, and there are local and international groups whose cooperation has resulted in regional efforts to mitigate this threat and dismantle many international networks."