ASEAN Member States attended the 4th Drug Focal Points Meeting of the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme in Singapore

News / View / ASEAN Information

Friday 27th of October 2017

ASEAN Member States attended the 4th Drug Focal Points Meeting of the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme in Singapore

            The Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme (CPDAP) in collaboration with the Central Narcotic Bureau of Singapore organized the 4th Drug Focal Points Meeting on 23-25 October 2017 at the Parkroyal on the Beach Hotel, Singapore. The focal points from the Colombo Plan member countries and non-member (as observers) were invited. Total 80 participants from 20 member countries attended the meeting. The national drug control focal points of ASEAN Member States were invited to send their representatives to attend the meeting. The main aim of this meeting is to create a platform to discuss the current drug use trends and work towards finding suitable and collective solutions to the challenges faced and efforts made at the curbing drug problem at national, regional and international levels. The focal points meeting of the CPDAP is organized every two years, the 3rd Focal Points Meeting of the CPDAP was organized in Chiang Mai Thailand in 2014.

           The three day meeting was held with the Experts Group Consultation to share in-depth experiences and best practices as well as difficulties faced on substance abuse prevention, substance abuse treatment and narcotics law enforcement which would lead to the concrete recommendations that fit in the current drug situation as well as to propose the way forward. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Ng Ser Song, Director of the Central Narcotic Bureau; H.E.Mr. Javid Ahmed Qaem, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Counter Narcotics, Afganistan was the Vice Chair. Mr. Kinley Dorji, Secretary-General of the Colombo Plan Secretariat and Ms. Ma Veronica Felipe, Advisor of the Drug Advisory Programme attended the meeting as resource persons.

           Representatives from national drug control focal points, experts from member countries of the Colombo Plan of which 8 ASEAN Member States are members sending representatives to attend the meeting, namely, Brunei Darussalam, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

           The meeting was successfully organized and concluded through the exchange and sharing of experiences among participating countries on demand and supply reduction which were practical upon the evidence based. Moreover, participating countries had the opportunity to have a bilateral consultation on drug control cooperation such as Thailand and Singapore.