Press Release 28 Oct. 2004

NATO-Russia Council seminar on Afghan narcotics On 28 October 2004, national experts representing the member states of the NATO-Russia Council gathered in Brussels to explore possible cooperation in the NRC framework against the threats posed by trafficking in Afghan narcotics. The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime was also represented at the Seminar. Participants examined the challenges posed by the exponential growth of opium production in Afghanistan and of illicit trafficking in Afghan narcotics for security in Afghanistan, and stability in the region and in the broader Euro-Atlantic area. This meeting represents a tangible expression of all NRC member states’ commitment to the development of a stable and prosperous Afghanistan, and their support for the Afghan Authorities in the implementation of their National Drug Control Strategy their defence and security reform efforts, as well as for relevant international efforts aimed at stopping the cultivation of poppies and the production and transit of narcotics.