Drug control meeting stresses strong government infrastructure in Afghanistan, UN says

A coalition of international anti-drug experts has vowed its readiness to support Afghanistan's efforts to build the strong government infrastructure needed to curb illicit drugs in the country and combat drug trafficking in the region, the United Nations mission said today.

Highlighting the outcome of an anti-drug meeting held in Kabul earlier this week, a spokesman for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said today that participants, including representatives from Iran, United Kingdom, United Nations and United States, asked the Government to prepare a list of priorities needed to assist the Counter Narcotics Department of the National Security Council in Kabul and its provincial offices.

"The Afghan authorities are also to come up with a list identifying the number and the locations of the border control points to be built," Manoel de Almeida e Silva told reporters in Kabul.

As a result of the talks on Tuesday, the first meeting of border control officials from the participating countries is scheduled to take place in Kabul in a few weeks, with high-level meetings between the parties expected to take place every six months, the spokesman added.