ASEAN fails to obtain drug-free region goal

The fourth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Drug Matters was held on October 29 (Source:www.theborneopost.com)

ASEAN nations have failed to obtain the goal of a drug-free region by 2015 set at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Drugs (AMMD) seven years ago.

ASEAN countries recognised that the fight against drugs were very difficult and required not only harsh statements but effective action, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Home Affairs Ahmad Zahid Hamid told media after the fourth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Drug Matters in Langkawi on October 29.

Even though the political will of the ASEAN countries to see the region free from drugs is very strong, it will not work if drug syndicates continue to fulfill market demands, he stated.

He called on regional countries to seek more drastic solutions to the problem while emphasising the need to strengthen cooperation among ASEAN through regional mechanisms and promoting collaboration with other nations such as Japan, China and Australia in the field.

ASEAN organised to the meeting to realise the regional leaders’ joint statement and called for efforts from countries to implement the ASEAN action plan on drug combat for 2009-2015.

The first ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Drug Matters was held in Thailand in 2012. It was then organised in Brunei in 2013 and Indonesia in 2014.-VNA