Director General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am pleased to address this second high-level event on cooperation between UNODC and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
It is an important opportunity to assess developments, and agree on joint strategic priorities and targets for the region in these complex times.
Countries of the region are dealing with record opium cultivation and production as well as precursor trafficking, alongside the many challenges posed by crime, illicit financial flows and the spread of violent extremism and terrorism.
The need to address interlinked, cross-border challenges of drugs, crime and terrorism and the importance of regional cooperation have been highlighted in several recent high-level fora, including: the Seventh Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia; the UN Security Council debate on Afghanistan in December; and the Security Council Ministerial meeting focusing on "Building Regional Partnership in Afghanistan and Central Asia" in January.
They were also emphasized at the UNODC Memorandum of Understanding on Sub-Regional Drug Control meeting for Central Asia last year.
These meetings addressed the role of international partners in supporting regional approaches.
In particular, they highlighted the need for intensified efforts to counter terrorism and cross-border crime; strengthening the links between the UN and international support for security; and encouraging further regional and economic integration.
In view of this, recognizing drug cultivation and production as a "conflict multiplier" and mainstreaming responses in peace-building and development schemes are essential.
It is in this context UNODC is further strengthening its partnership with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which plays a critical role in building regional trust and confidence.
Our work aims to support implementation of the operational recommendations contained in the outcome document of the UN General Assembly Special Session on the world drug problem, and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
We see many synergies with SCO in our work to support governments through our integrated three-tier national, regional and inter-regional approach to confront illicit drugs and related transnational organized crime.
This approach, which is being reviewed to ensure greater effectiveness, aims to build and promote: national capacities; regional mechanisms, including the Triangular Initiative and its Joint Planning Cell, the Afghanistan-Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan Initiative and CARICC; and cooperation across regions though the Networking the Networks Initiative.
In this way, UNODC supports flexible and dynamic cooperation capable of addressing the complexities of drug control and its transnational dimensions, and adapting to the ever-changing nature of the problem, including new trends, routes and actors.
Furthermore, I welcome our strengthened cooperation with SCO's counterterrorism structure to stop the financing of terrorism, counter extremist propaganda and protect victims.
Our policy-level cooperation is supported by cooperation on the technical and expert level, with the mutual participation of our experts in regional training and workshops.
Moreover, the UNODC eLearning programme, which includes more than 350 modules in 17 thematic areas, is available to SCO along with Member States in the region.
Together with SCO, we are also engaging with other important players in the region, notably the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Our three organizations are preparing for a High Level International Conference on Combatting the Drug Problem in September 2018.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Allow me to conclude by thanking Secretary-General Rashid Alimov for co-hosting this high-level side event, and for his personal contribution to our cooperation.
I would also like to express my gratitude to our regional and international partners and donors for their continued engagement and support.
Thank you.