Kazakhstan calls for EU-central Asia cooperation in fighting drug-trafficking, terrorism

Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Kemelevich Tokayev on Friday called on the central Asian countries and the European Union (EU) to improve their cooperation in fighting drug-trafficking and terrorism.

Effective cooperation between the two sides would have a significant impact in safeguarding security and stability in the China-Caucuses and India-Siberia regions, Tokayev said at a meeting here attended by central Asian foreign ministers and representatives from the previous, current, and next EU presidency -- Britain, Austria and Finland.

Such cooperation could be coordinated within the framework of Europe's anti-drug and border control plans, the Kazakh minister suggested.

Tokayev highlighted the rampant drug trade in Afghanistan, poverty, the deteriorating environment, and other social and economic problems in the region. He said that such conditions had cultivated a hotbed for the emergence and spread of terrorism and extremism which posed serious threats to regional security.

The Kazakh government therefore proposed incorporating Afghanistan into the implementation of the wider security program of the central Asian countries, Tokayev said.

Hans Winkler, the Austrian state secretary for European affairs, said at the meeting that the central Asian countries were reliable and firm partners for the EU, and he saw it as important that the wider security plan and energy development policies should be adjusted to meet the needs of the current situation.

Source: Xinhua