Links between Afghan drug trade, terrorism stressed at Vienna talks: UN agency

A group of countries meeting in the framework of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) said today that the Afghan heroin trade was continuing unchecked and needed urged response, especially in view of its links to terrorism.

"Despite the Taliban's effective ban on poppy cultivation last year, trafficking in Afghan heroin, drawing on important stockpiles, continued unabated," said a statement released in Vienna by the chairman of the group, which drew representatives from 17 donor countries, 9 countries in the region around Afghanistan, and officials from the European Commission.

"Participants recognized that the importance of the fight against drugs in Afghanistan had gained increased urgency because of connections between drug trafficking and the financing of terrorism," said the group, which was meeting in light of developments following the terrorist attacks against the United States to assess the situation of drugs originating from Afghanistan.

"Participants in the meeting expressed their joint commitment to strengthening cooperation in order to reinforce border control capacity in the region, both of the countries in the first and second 'lines of defence' and to fight against drug trafficking."

According to the statement, the countries agreed on the importance of a more in-depth assessment of the situation and of urgent needs in the countries surrounding Afghanistan.