KUWAIT NEWS AGENCY
Countries are showing increasing determination to unite their efforts to fight illegal drugs, said Kuwaiti Col. Mohammad Al-Hazeem, head of operations at the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry Drug Control Department.
Al-Hazeem was speaking on the sidelines of the ninth International Forum on Drugs Issues, held in June 2013 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The event was organized by the Dubai Police Force.
Al-Hazeem said the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry is keen on taking part in all such events, stressing that the forum is an important meeting place for international bodies leading the fight against drugs. Participating organizations included the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime regional office and the UNODC subregional office for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); the Anti-Narcotics Arab Bureau of the Council of Arab Ministers of Interior; and the Criminal Information Centre to Combat Drugs, also a GCC body.
Although the GCC countries are key targets for traffickers, their integrated effort and their cooperation with both Arab and international groups enables them to foil many attempts to smuggle narcotics, Al-Hazeem said.
The two-day forum discussed laws and regulations in place in the Arab region and how effective they are in the battle against organized drug trafficking. Attendees also compared laws in the region with those in other regions and those adopted by international organizations. Participants represented 23 countries.