PHNOM PENH: Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to continue to strengthen their cooperation on the fight against the drug trade.

The agreement was made during the 14th bilateral meeting on cooperation in the fight against drug, held on Tuesday (March 26) in Phnom Penh. An earlier scheduled meeting was delayed because of several cases of Covid-19, according to the National Authority for Combating Drugs (NACD).

Leading the two delegations were Meas Vyrith, secretary-general of the NACD, and Phanurat Lukboon, secretary-general of Thailand’s Narcotics Control Board (NCB).

During the meeting, Vyrith noted that the Thai government and the NCB have always worked closely in almost all sectors, particularly in efforts to suppress the drug trade.

“The Thai government assists us with law enforcement, treatment, rehabilitation, laboratory work, drug education campaigns and the implementation of drug-free village mechanisms, through the implementation of an annual Letter of Acceptance [LOA],” he said.

He added that each of the meeting’s participants had discussed new measures that could be employed to restrict the efforts of drug dealers.

“We set the goal of strengthening cooperation between our institutions and making it more effective, in response to the current situation and the problem of drugs in our respective countries, as well as across the region. We also established more action plans which we will implement,” he said.

Lukboon called on the authorities of both sides to prevent the activities of criminal gangs who trade in large quantities of the precursor chemicals used to manufacture various narcotics, noting that they often disguise them as common commercial chemical compounds.

During the 13rd bilateral meeting, he praised the cooperation between the two countries and lauded their excellent results.

He explained that Thailand is targeted by some drug smugglers, especially in the northern and northeastern regions, due to its proximity to the “golden triangle”.

Am Sam Ath, operations director at rights group LICADHO, said on March 27 that cooperation between the neighbouring kingdoms is essential, as illegal narcotics are a major issue for the region and the entire world.

He added that currently, the NACD appears to be impounding a lot of drugs which are transiting through Cambodia. In order to curb the flow of drugs across the border, it is crucial to identify criminals and their accomplices, so sharing intelligence with other countries is vital.

“It will take exceptionally close cooperation with Thailand to tackle the issue of drugs being trafficked between the two countries,” he said, adding that in addition to working with its neighbours, Cambodia needs to strengthen the implementation of existing laws and take action against people involved with drugs or corrupt practices. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN