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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has held with his counterparts from (a) Dubai, (b) Uzbekistan, (c) Iran and (d) Pakistan concerning the trafficking of (i) opium and (ii) heroin out of Afghanistan; and whether the Government's opium eradication policy in Afghanistan includes combating the transporting of opium of Afghan origin in the region. [140820] Mr. Straw: The UK is committed to supporting implementation of the Afghan National Drug Control Strategy which aims to eliminate the production of opium in Afghanistan within 10 years. The Afghan strategy includes tackling trafficking of drugs within Afghanistan and at its borders. The UK is also tackling opium once it leaves Afghanistan. Pakistan, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan are some of the transit points for Afghan-produced heroin. Ministerial colleagues, Government officials and I regularly raise these issues with counterparts from these and many other countries. Most recently, I discussed drugs issues with the Iranian Foreign Minister when I met him in New York on 24 September 2003. In May 2003 I attended the international conference in Paris hosted by the French government on "Drug Routes from Central Asia to Europe". This conference led to the formation of the Paris Pact which provides a consultative mechanism for drug and crime control for countries affected by the trafficking of Afghan opium.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

140820; 415 c241W;415 c240W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Crops Drugs International cooperation Production Pakistan Smuggling Afghanistan Iran Dubai Heroin Opium Uzbekistan

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk