According to the Ministry of Government, the forum will address issues related to anti-drug policy in matters of public health, security and the fight against drug trafficking. Some 175 delegates from 42 national anti-narcotics agencies will seek to strengthen international cooperation in the face of global growth in drug supply and demands.
Bolivia and the European bloc will co-chair the work sessions, in which items such as addressing the vulnerabilities of certain groups or improving access to quality care services and social inclusion will also be discussed.
Borja Díaz, director of the COPOLAD Program, arrived in Bolivia last Saturday. “We have had an excellent reception, these days we are going to be exchanging experiences in the fight against drug trafficking from a technical point of view,” he stated, and expressed satisfaction with the collaboration established with the Government of Luis Arce.
The Bolivian Vice Minister of Social Defense and Controlled Substances, Jaime Mamani, explained the importance of collaboration: “We bet from Bolivia that regionalization is the alternative solution to make the fight against drug trafficking effective and dismantle criminal networks,” he said.
President Luis Arce proposed on December 7th to regionalize the fight against drug trafficking in his first participation as a full member of Bolivia of in the Southern Common Market (Mercosur): “There is a problem that is always overwhelming us in the region, which is drug trafficking, which has complicated even political figures in several of our countries. It is clear that the fight (…) against this scourge is no longer only from one country,” he stated.
At the Summit of Heads of State in Rio de Janeiro, Arce expressed his concern about loosing the battle if a regional confrontation is not carried out. “We have been stigmatized for many years. I am not only talking about Colombia, Mexico, at the time Bolivia, but also of other countries,” he said, and pointed out the political and economic aspects of this matter, because in his words, little by little, all those international mafias are beginning to interfere in those spheres.
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