Co-operation needed to combat drug trafficking, director of Central Asian co-ordination centre tells OSCE

VIENNA, 18 November 2010 - International co-operation and co-ordination is crucial to combat drug trafficking, the head of the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC) told the OSCE Permanent Council today.

"We need broad-based co-operation to stop drug trafficking financing terrorism," said Beksultan Sarsekov, director of the centre, which was established as a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime project. "CARICC is an excellent platform for international drug experts to exchange their views. Co-operation with our partners should be used more widely with the help of the Centre".

Sarsekov noted that the OSCE and CARICC had exchanged letters this year to broaden co-operation between the two organizations.

The Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre has seven member states: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It also has 11 observer states and co-operates with several international organizations, including Interpol and the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative Regional Centre for Combating Trans-border Crime.

The Centre works to co-ordinate its member states' efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking. It facilitates the organization and execution of joint international operations to combat such trafficking, and it provides analysis on the drug situation in its region.

The Permanent Council is one of the 56-country OSCE's main regular decision-making bodies. It convenes weekly in Vienna to discuss developments in the OSCE area and to make appropriate decisions.