Interior Minister Catalin Predoiu said on Wednesday, after the 67th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, that it is time to build up a global front against illicit drugs and organised crime.
"Together with over 100 high-level representatives from United Nations member states, I participated in an important UN Conference on the fight against narcotic drugs, more precisely in the work of the ministerial segment of the 67th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. The importance of this event was also marked by the presence of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who delivered a historic speech on combating illicit drugs globally," Predoiu is quoted as saying in press release of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) issued on Wednesday.
Predoiu delivered two speeches to the plenary meeting of the conference and at the above-mentioned round table, in which he presented the vision of what needs to be done globally to combat illicit drugs, and also what Romania is doing to combat this scourge and organised crime.
"This is a time to build up a global front against illicit drugs and organised crime. We are talking about a phenomenon that has turned into a global industry, an industry of human degradation and death, an attack on all humanity. This diabolical industry has engulfed hundreds of millions of people in its clutches and squeezes the economies of nation states of tens of billions of euros annually," Predoiu said.
He added that this "evil industry" attacks the younger generations.
Predoiu added that Romania has allocated additional resources in the area of combating illicit drugs and has initiated discussions at international level with the US, UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Turkey, at the level of ministers, heads of agencies, ambassadors and chiefs of police to increase co-operation between the Romanian Police and other national police in combating cross-border crime.
He also said that he personally proposed and launched through the MAI a national action plan framework for school safety, approved by all seven involved ministries of the Romanian government, under which action groups were set up at the level of each pre-university education establishment, composed of a representative of the MAI, parents' associations, pupils and a representative of that school.
Predoiu gave assurances that this effort will continue, and this year's complicated political agenda will not affect in any way the work of the Ministry of Interior to combat illicit drugs and organised crime.