Al-Sudani Places Emphasis on Being Open to All Drug-combating Efforts

INA-  Baghdad


Media Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement obtained by the Iraqi News Agency-INA that “Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al-Sudani inaugurated the second Baghdad International Conference on Combating Drugs this Monday morning. The conference saw participation from delegations, including ministers of interior and drug enforcement agencies from nine Arab and regional countries, the Secretary-General of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.”

The statement read that “the Prime Minister welcomed the participating delegations, emphasizing the importance of raising the level of coordination and joint cooperation to combat the destructive effects of drugs on societies and economies and their impact on regional stability. He highlighted Iraq’s willingness to share its expertise and capabilities in intelligence and counter-terrorism with its partners.”

The statement further stated the prime minister affirmed “Combating drugs is a responsibility that the state must bear with all its agencies and entities, as well as our societies, stressing that” Drugs and psychotropic substances are a primary factor in the instability of the region.”
 
“The threat of drugs not only harms our youth but endangers our entire future, as the cooperation between terrorism and drug gangs aims to create isolated areas outside the control of the law,” he said.

Al-Sudani asserted that “The linkage between terrorism and drug gangs targets our security and the stable foundations of our societies, as it has been used to recruit terrorists to create unsafe areas, halt development, and weaken nations.”
 
“The effects of drugs are akin to those of wars, displacement, and the uprooting of peoples from their foundations, much like the current aggression on Gaza and our Palestinian people, that the goal of drugs and terrorism is to spread conflict and expand areas of violence, producing extremism and more refugees,” he said.
 
He confrmed that “Drugs are no longer merely chemical substances that affect the minds of some individuals and users but a means to destroy societies from within,” adding that “ We have focused on this issue since the first day of our work to protect society from a threat targeting our youth and our ethical and moral foundation.”
 
The prime minister stated initiating a series of measures and decisions aimed at dismantling the capabilities of criminal groups dealing in these poisons and enhancing the community’s immunity within a comprehensive national strategy to combat drugs, and asserted achieving the desired goal of drug-free societies by unifying efforts and enhancing joint coordination.
 
He also said “Drugs promote crime, are marketed by outlaws, and aim to create chaos and dissolution, that the goals of the drug trade have intertwined with terrorism funded by it and hostile entities that do not hesitate to support crime to achieve failed political goals.”
 
“Iraqis have successfully fought and defeated terrorism over two decades and are ready to employ their intelligence expertise and increase security coordination, that coordinating and cooperating to pursue and dismantle drug gangs will serve regional and international security,” he affirmed.
 
The prime minister highlighted that Iraq is open to all cooperation or effort with its brothers and friends and We will support any effort aiming to eliminate drugs hubs, manufacturing stations, cut off their supply chains, and bring perpetrators to justice, as this is a cross-border crime.