BAGHDAD: Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah on Monday stressed that establishing communication channels and international coordination between security agencies to combat drug trafficking will have a great impact. Establishing communication channels would allow information exchange and reviewing legal frameworks to tackle criminal networks effectively, he told the 2nd Baghdad International Drug Control Conference.
Sheikh Fahad Yousef highlighted the importance of sustained efforts and collaborative measures to thwart drug smuggling and distribution. He also outlined the initiatives taken by Kuwait’s Interior Ministry in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking and presented the ministry’s comprehensive strategy aimed at fighting drug trafficking, warning of relevant severe security and social implications.
The Kuwaiti minister expressed his gratitude towards Iraq’s Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Al-Sudani, for sponsoring the conference and thanked Iraq’s Interior Minister Abdulamir Al-Shammari for inviting Kuwait to the gathering. The Iraq-hosted conference saw the participation of interior ministers of nine countries, including Kuwait, as well as representatives from the United Nations and the Secretary General of the Arab Interior Ministers Council.
Kuwait’s Ambassador to Iraq Tareq Al-Faraj said that the participation of the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah in the Baghdad International Drug Control Conference reflects Kuwait’s seriousness in combating drug trafficking. In his remarks to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), Al-Faraj hailed the First Deputy PM, stressing that his speech at the Iraq-hosted conference signifies Kuwait’s unwavering determination to eliminate the scourge and coordinate and cooperate with international security agencies towards that goal.
Anti-drug efforts
The 2nd Baghdad International Drug Control Conference called for unifying joint regional and international efforts to promote global security and protect societies from illegal drugs. This came in the final communiqué adopted by the conferees at the wrapping-up of the gathering that brought together ministerial delegations from nine Arab and foreign countries, including Kuwait, represented by its First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Yousef Saud Al-Sabah.
The conferees underlined that the region’s countries should work at both security and intelligence levels in the context of responding to the current circumstances and similar challenges and problems. They also recommended that it is essential to bolster joint action mechanisms and prop up security integration in order to cut off the way for drug trafficking and to track, dismantle, and eliminate trafficking gangs. They called for using scientific methods and modern technology to intensively monitor and control websites and social media platforms that are active in marketing and trafficking in drugs and psychoactive substances. — KUNA