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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place with the governments of (a) Turkmenistan, (b) Tajikistan and (c) Uzbekistan on the smuggling of opium across its borders with Afghanistan; and what steps the Government have taken to assist these countries in securing their borders with Afghanistan. [192056] Mr. Rammell: The UK maintains an ongoing dialogue with Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan concerning the flow of opiates from Afghanistan. In addition to bilateral contacts, the UK has supported the Afghan Government in securing agreement to a Good Neighbourly Relations Declaration (GNRD) on counter narcotics through which Afghanistan and her six neighbours have agreed to co-operate and take joint action to stop the flow of opiates from Afghanistan. The UK is also a leading figure in the "Paris Pact" which is a mechanism for co- ordinating activity by all countries affected by drug trafficking from Afghanistan. An HMCE Drug Liaison Officer is based in Tajikistan, with a regional remit, to facilitate improved co-operation on counter narcotics issues. The UK has an ongoing programme of bilateral and regional assistance for counter narcotics capacity- building with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Examples of UK assistance include equipment and facilities to secure their borders with Afghanistan, training of law enforcement officials, assistance to develop regional intelligence sharing and co-operation to stop the flow of pre-cursor chemicals into Afghanistan.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

425 c754W; 192056

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Borders Drugs International cooperation Security Smuggling Afghanistan Opium Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Tajikistan

Link

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