TEHRAN – Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi participated in the second International Conference on Drug Control, which was held in Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday.

The official was scheduled to hold meetings with Iraqi officials, and follow up on the issues related to the Arbaeen pilgrimage, Mehr news agency reported.

During his two-day official visit, Vahidi will meet counterparts from other countries to explore ways to foster cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking.

Delegations from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, and Egypt also attended the conference.

“The preparatory meetings for the international delegations participating in the second Baghdad International Conference on Drug Control started on Saturday, July 20, in the capital, Baghdad, under the slogan ‘Through Cooperation and Unity of Purpose, We Eliminate Drugs,'” Iraq’s Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

The event was attended by Iraqi Minister of Interior, Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, and the anti-narcotics police chiefs of the neighboring countries participated in the preparatory meeting.

During the meeting, Iran anti-narcotics police chief, Iraj Kakavand, called regional cooperation essential in tackling drug trafficking.
Highlighting Iran’s all-round efforts in the battle against narcotics and illicit trafficking, Kakavand said regional cooperation is crucial to address the problem due to vast border trafficking, IRNA reported.

Tehran, Baghdad to share anti-narcotics experience

In August 2023, Iran and Iraq anti-narcotics police emphasized the need to strengthen regional stability and develop bilateral cooperation in combating drug trafficking by sharing experiences.

A joint meeting between the anti-narcotics police chiefs of the two countries was held at the police headquarters of Karbala province with Al-Shammari, the Iraqi anti-narcotics police chief, Ahmed Al-Zarkani, and Kakavand, in attendance.

The two sides stressed the exchange of information on monitoring drug transit between the two countries and discussed possible ways to deal with drug trafficking and smuggling.

The Iranian official explained Iran’s anti-narcotics police measures and activities in the fight against drugs, saying: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is at the forefront of combating drug trafficking and transit which is mostly imported from eastern countries.

The proof of this claim is about 4 thousand martyrs and more than 12 thousand veterans in this battle.”

Referring to the capabilities of Iran's anti-narcotics police, he announced Iran’ full readiness for cooperation with Iraq in this field.

Al-Zarkani, emphasizing the need to reinforce cooperation with Iran's anti-narcotics police, announced Iraq’s readiness to hold specialized training courses by Iran's anti-narcotics police for the police officers in Iraq.

MT/MG