'The initiative of trilateral cooperation between Iran, China and Russia aimed at expanding cooperation has been welcomed by these countries,” Secretary General of Iran's Drugs Control Headquarters Eskandar Momeni told Wei Xiaojun, Deputy Secretary-General of Chinese National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC).

The Iranian official added that he expected that this initiative to come into force as soon as China expresses its opinion on the matter. 

“Should the final document on this trilateral cooperation be finally prepared and approved, it can play an effective role in deepening the trio’s relations with regards to their efforts against drug trafficking,” he added. 

Momenin stressed the need to expand bilateral cooperation with China on intelligence sharing and equipping laboratories to detect narcotics, saying Iran is also ready to cooperate in this regard. 

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 62nd session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) that started on March 14 and will run until March 22 in the Austrian capital Vienna. 

The Chinese official also reiterated that two countries, that share long historical political and economic ties, should also increase their efforts to contain and counter trafficking of narcotics. 

He mentioned that the trilateral initiative details should be defined so Tehran, Beijing and Moscow can coordinate their anti-drug operations. Wei Xiaojun also noted that his country is ready to help equip Iranian laboratories. 

IRNA