§ Mr. AncramTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Turkey concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Afghanistan; [41627]
(2) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Pakistan concerning the measures it is taking to prevent the trafficking of poppies and heroin between Afghanistan and other countries in Central Asia; [41625]
(3) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Kazakhstan concerning the measures it is taking to prevent the trafficking of poppies and heroin between Afghanistan and those countries in Central Asia; [41641]
(4) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Iran concerning the measures it is taking to prevent the trafficking of poppies and heroin between Afghanistan and those countries in Central Asia; [41636]
(5) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Kyrgyzstan concerning the measures it is taking to prevent the trafficking of poppies and heroin between Afghanistan and other countries in Central Asia; [41634]
(6) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Kyrgyzstan concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Kyrgyzstan; [41635]
(7) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Tajikistan concerning the measures it is taking to prevent the trafficking of poppies and heroin between Afghanistan and other countries in Central Asia; [41633]
(8) what recent discussions his Department has had with the United States Government concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Afghanistan; [41628]
(9) what reports his Department has received on changes in the level of cultivation and trafficking of poppies in (a) Afghanistan and (b) other Central Asian countries since the establishment of Afghanistan's interim Government; [41626]
(10) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Afghanistan concerning the measures it is taking to prevent the trafficking of poppies and heroin between Afghanistan and other countries in Central Asia; [41631]
(11) what recent discussions he has had with his European Union counterparts concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Afghanistan; [41629]
(12) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Pakistan concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Pakistan; [41624]
691W(13) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Uzbekistan concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Uzbekistan; [41640]
(14) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Kazakhstan concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Kazakhstan; [41642]
(15) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Uzbekistan concerning the measures it is taking to prevent the trafficking of poppies and heroin between Afghanistan and other countries in Central Asia; [41623]
(16) what recent discussion his Department has had with the Government of Turkmenistan concerning the measures it is taking to prevent the trafficking of poppies and heroin between Afghanistan and other countries in Central Asia; [41639]
(17) what recent discussion his Department has had with the Government of Iran concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Iran; [41637]
(18) what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Tajikistan concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Tajikistan; [41632]
(19) what recent discussions his Department has had with the interim Government of Afghanistan concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Afghanistan.[41630]
§ Mr. StrawThe cultivation and trafficking of opiates is of serious concern to the UK. The UK maintains a dialogue, and co-operates closely, with the EU and G8 countries as well as all countries in south-west and Central Asia. The Bonn Agreement concluded in December 2001 urged the international community to assist the Afghan Interim Authority to combat the cultivation and trafficking of illicit drugs. When I met Hamid Karzai, the Chairman of the Interim Administration, during my visit to India at the end of last month I stressed the importance of progress on tackling drugs. Mr. Karzai has already signalled his intent by announcing in January a ban on drugs production, processing and trafficking. The international community, including the UK, has expressed its determination to help the Afghan authorities to implement this ban as soon as possible.
It was decided at the Tokyo Reconstruction conference in January that drugs should be treated as a cross-cutting issue and that drugs-related objectives should therefore be reflected in all assistance programmes. The UK pledged £200 million at Tokyo which, among other things, will be aimed at projects designed to reduce the dependence of the Afghan economy on drugs.
In financial year 2002–03 the FCO will provide around £4.5 million for practical anti-drugs assistance in the form of training and equipment to countries in south-west and Central Asia.
A UNDCP report published at the end of February 2002 stated that between 1,900 and 2,700 tones of opium would be produced in Afghanistan this year. Opium production in other south-west and Central Asian countries is negligible by comparison.
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§ Mr. ArbuthnotTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the Government of Turkmenistan concerning the cultivation and trafficking of poppies originating in Turkmenistan. [41638]
§ Mr. MacShaneI refer the right hon. Member to the answer given today by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to the right hon. Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram).