Friday Nov 22, 2024
Friday Nov 22, 2024
Monday, 24 October 2016 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The heads of national drug law enforcement agencies in Asia-Pacific Region will get together in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo for three days from today to discuss solutions to the growing problem of the illicit drug trade in the region.
The 40th meeting of the Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA) for Asia and Pacific will be held from 24-27 October at the BMICH, Colombo with the participation of over 100 law enforcement, public security and UN officials.
The opening of the three-day event will be held under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena. The Minister of Law and Order and Southern Development Sagala Ratnayake will also participate.
Organised annually by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC), HONLEA is a meeting designed to allow participants to discuss major regional drug trafficking trends and countermeasures. The meetings of HONLEA discuss new trends and issues related to drug trafficking and exchanges of ideas and knowledge on law enforcement against drug trafficking.
At the meeting Sri Lanka is expected to propose the establishment of an international Inter-agency Intelligence and Information Unit to combat the drug menace. The proposal will be presented to the heads of National Law Enforcement Agencies in the Asia and Pacific region countries.
Parallel to the event a ministerial-level special meeting will also be held 29 October under the patronage of the President and Minister Sagala Ratnayake with the participation of relevant ministers from the region.
Meanwhile, the Indian Ocean Forum on Maritime Crime convened by the Global Maritime Crime Program of the UNODC will also hold a meeting of the Heads of Drug Enforcement Agencies of the Indian Ocean Region on 28 and 29 October in Colombo immediately following the 40th meeting of HONLEA for the Asia-Pacific.
The meeting will bring together senior officials from leading drug enforcement organisations in 22 littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region to discuss the emerging threat of narcotics trafficking in the maritime domain.
The two summits will be hosted by Minister Sagala Ratnayake and the Chairman of the National Dangerous Drug Control Board, Professor Ravindra Fernando. President Maithripala Sirisena will be the Chief Guest at both events.
