Japanese Embassy Leads High-Level Meeting to Tackle Laos’ Illicit Drug Challenges

On 8 November 2024, a high-level assembly came about in Vientiane to deal with the continued challenges posed by illicit drug manufacturing, trafficking, and utilization in Laos.

The occasion, co-hosted by the Japanese Embassy in Laos, the Lao Nationwide Fee of Medication Management and Supervision (LCDC), and the United Nations Workplace on Medication and Crime (UNODC), aimed to evaluate and advance Laos’s efforts to fight the illicit drug sector. The assembly gathered stakeholders to debate the progress of the Nationwide Agenda for Drug and Precursor Chemical Management 2021-2023, which has been prolonged via 2025 to deal with these urgent points.

The Nationwide Agenda focuses on enhancing regulation enforcement, bolstering preventive measures, and strengthening worldwide cooperation to curb drug-related challenges. Laos, located alongside key trafficking routes and with porous borders, faces vital hurdles in controlling the movement of illicit medicine. The assembly additionally addressed the coordination efforts amongst growth companions and emphasised the necessity for a balanced strategy, integrating sustainable growth with efficient drug management.

By the Spherical Desk Mechanism, the Illicit Drug Sector Working Group and the Mini-Dublin Working Group facilitate collaboration between numerous stakeholders, guaranteeing a unified strategy in addressing the difficulty. Japan, which has been co-chairing the Illicit Drug Sector Working Group with Australia since 2007, continues to play an important position in supporting Laos’s anti-drug efforts.

“Japan has lengthy been dedicated to supporting Laos’s socio-economic growth. We perceive {that a} balanced strategy, integrating each sustainable growth and efficient drug management, is important. To this finish, Japan will proceed its help via each bilateral channels and Japan-ASEAN initiatives to assist Laos tackle the obstacles posed by illicit medicine,” mentioned Tsutomu Koizumi, Ambassador of Japan to Laos.

The assembly was attended by Pol. Maj. Gen. Khamking Phouilamanivong, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Safety; Tsutomu Koizumi, Ambassador of Japan to Laos; Masood Karimipour, UNODC Regional Consultant for Southeast Asia and the Pacific; Lao authorities authorities; and Ambassadors and representatives of growth companions.

Trying forward, the assembly reviewed the Nationwide Agenda’s progress, mentioned rising points, and offered strategic steerage for 2025. The discussions will assist align Laos’s anti-drug efforts with the tenth Nationwide Socio-Financial Growth Plan, guaranteeing a complete and coordinated strategy to tackling illicit medicine and supporting socio-economic growth.