Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Gholamhossein Dehghani who is currently in Moscow attending the conference dedicated to counteraction to illegal arms supplies in light of the fight against international terrorism, met with UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yuri Fedotov.
The event is being held in Moscow’s World Trade Center where representatives of 21 countries and heads of counterterrorism units of 11 international organizations have confirmed their participation. Dehghani and Fedotov met on the sidelines of the conference on Monday.
During the meeting, Fedotov called for expansion of ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the area of countering the smuggling of narcotics and drug trafficking in the region. He also called for strengthening the UNODC office in Tehran.
The two sides also discussed bilateral cooperation in areas of countering narcotics smuggling and exchanged views on terrorist activities.
The Iranian diplomat, for his part, listed the measures undertaken by the Islamic Republic of Iran in fighting transnational organized crimes and drug trafficking. He asserted that these phenomena are closely interconnected with terrorism.
“Today, especially in our region, one of the main financial resources for terrorists is narcotics and drug trafficking, something that Iran has been at the frontline of the war with this sinister phenomenon in the past decades and has lost the lives of dear ones in the path of fighting with these criminals,” he underlined.
He then criticized some countries which, according to him, are and have been benefiting the most from Iran’s campaign against drug trafficking and meanwhile refuse to offer any assisstance, both technical and financial.
In the same meeting, Fedotov for his part, reassured that UN is determined to send new forces to UNODC office in Tehran to strengthen the regional office.
He voiced agreement with what Iranian diplomat said about the situation in the region and ascertained that he and his office understands the concerns voiced by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
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