Ministers in charge of drug control from China, India, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand yesterday expressed their political commitment to cooperate further on drug control in their region.

On the opening day of a two-day ministerial meeting in the northern Thai town of Chiang Rai in the province of the same name, they said they recognized that the drug situation there requires immediate attention and that no country can solve its drug problem on its own.

The ministers were scheduled to discuss various issues related to cooperation in the area of drug control, including the implementation of crop-substitution programs, market entry for the products of such programs, control of the chemical precursors for producing illegal drugs, and information exchanges.

The control of chemical precursors was expected to be a main topic of the five-nation meeting.

At a preliminary senior officials' meeting held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Chiang Rai, delegates from the five nations agreed to place three main precursors on their priority control lists. The three precursors are ephedrine, pseudo-ephedrine and acetic anhydride, which are essential chemicals in the production of heroin and amphetamine-type stimulants.

The five countries' ministers are also expected to ratify the Chiang Rai Declaration, which was approved at the senior officials' meeting.

The declaration "fully" affirmed "the strong determination and clear political commitment" of the five governments in addressing the drug issue.

It also underlined the five nations' willingness to implement cooperative programs and exchange information on the control of drugs.

China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand started multilateral cooperation on drug control in August 2001, when delegates from the four countries adopted the Beijing Declaration to combine their efforts in solving the drug problem.

India, which borders Myanmar, was later invited to take part in the regional cooperation.

At the opening ceremony of yesterday's meeting, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said: "India's participation will contribute to the increased effectiveness of our mutual cooperation in the control of narcotic drugs and transnational crime."

Chiang Rai, some 800 kilometers north of Bangkok, is Thailand's northernmost province. Its northern border is next to Myanmar and Laos.

(China Daily July 25, 2003)