MANAMA: The Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations signed a memorandum of understanding to combat trafficking in illicit drugs and narcotics and new criminal trends.
The Minister of Interior Lieutenant-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa sealed the deal with UN Undersecretary General and Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yuri Fedotov at the UN Headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
The key deal aims at stepping up cooperation and providing legislative and institutional consultancy services through training and awareness-enhancing programmes.
The agreement will also serve as a basis for a training programme in partnership with the Royal Academy of Police with the aim of building the ministry employees’ legal and technical capabilities and spearheading an efficient strategy to prevent and combat crime and keep abreast of international expertise.
In a statement today, the minister stressed the importance of the agreement which comes in the framework of firm cooperation with regional and international organisations, hailing the UN for initiating anti-drug and crime programmes
He commended the capabilities and expertise of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), stressing shared goals in preventing and combating crime.
The minister seized the occasion to outline Bahrain’s successful programme to combat violence and addiction through the national initiative TOGETHER (Ma’an), looking forward to expanding the model to the other GCC member states.
UN Undersecretary and (UNODC) executive director Yuri Fedotov welcomed the idea of building an efficient partnership with Bahrain, stressing the need for a local, regional and international strategy to prevent drugs from reaching the targeted markets.
He stressed the importance of the memorandum of understanding which would enable (UNODC) to provide technical assistance for Bahrain and other GCC states and exchange information and cross-border anti-drug operations.
(UNODC) experts briefed the minister on police-support programmes for combating human trafficking and treatment approaches for addiction. Lt. Gen Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa was also updated on The Container Control Programme (CCP) in cooperation with the World Customs Organization (WCO), in addition to another programme for training customs and exits officers.
The minister visited the (UNODC) forensic lab and was updated on latest equipment and technologies to combat all forms of organised crime. He discussed the prospects of cooperation with the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science to exchange expertise and technologies.
On the sidelines of his visit to Vienna, Lt. Gen Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al-Khalifa met Austrian Interior Ministry’s counter-terror experts and discussed issues of mutual interest.
He was accompanied by Bahrain Permanent Representative to the UN Office and international organisations in Geneva and accredited ambassador to Austria Dr. Yusuf Abdulkarim and the official delegation.