India, Afghanistan to hold bi-lateral meet on drugs this week

India and Afghanistan will hold dialogue later this week in the national capital to discuss issues related to illicit drug trafficking and narcotics abuse.

The one-day bi-lateral meeting on April 20 will also see discussions on cooperation between the two nations for exchange of ideas, sharing of best practices and furthering areas of cooperation in the drug crime domain, a senior official said.

The Indian side will be led by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Director General Abhay, while the Afghan delegation will be led by Director (International Affairs) of the Ministry of Counter Narcotics Abdul Qayyom Samer.

The NCB is the national agency to coordinate efforts of various government departments against the narcotics menace and it functions under the command of the Union Home Ministry.

India is located between two major narcotics regions-- the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran) and the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos and Thailand)-- and is vulnerable to transit, trafficking and consumption of opium derivatives and its various forms.