DUBAI, 30 October 2007 — The increasing use of narcotics among Arabs was put under the spotlight at the Arab Forum for Strategic Planning and Cooperation on Combating Drugs that kicked off here yesterday.
The forum, which is being held under the theme “Together for a more secure Arab society,” has been organized in conjunction with the UNODC’s (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime) Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa.
During his inauguration speech, Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, commander in chief of Dubai Police, urged police forces in the Arab world to cooperate in fighting the menace.
Lt.-Gen. Tamim said that the-first-of-its-kind forum to be held in the Arab world aims at enhancing cooperation between drug control authorities in the Middle East countries, exchanging expertise and developing human resources to fight drugs. He lamented the lack of cooperation between police forces in fighting drugs saying that drug traffickers do not recognize borders.
“I urge all the Arab governments to come together and come up with mechanisms to curb the menace that is killing the Arab youth. Drug abuse is a growing problem in the Arab world and we need all sectors of society to work together in order to find solutions,” he said.
