The 39th Meeting of ASOD was hosted by the Narcotics Control Bureau of Brunei Darussalam from 28-30 August 2018, and attended by representatives from all ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat. ASOD this year also met its counterparts from China, the Republic of Korea and Russia.
Officiating the 39th ASOD, His Excellency Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Retired) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, Minister of Defence II and Chairman of the National Security Committee of Brunei Darussalam in his Opening Remarks urged ASEAN Member States to continue to stand united in their effort towards our aspiration of a Drug-Free ASEAN both for our people. He also emphasised the need for ASEAN to work closely with Dialogue Partners especially in capacity building and the exchange of information and intelligence.
The ASEAN Member States also discussed in a candid manner their national drug situations. Cooperation on addressing the drug problems at both national and regional levels was progressing well, but more efforts would need to be undertaken. Further to this, updates on recent developments in ASEAN and the implementation of the ASEAN Political Security Community Blueprint 2025 also provided broader context to the Member States’ deliberation.
Ongoing efforts in implementing agreed commitments outlined in the ASEAN Work Plan on Securing Communities Against Illicit Drugs 2016-2025 were reflected on the First Internal Review of the Work Plan, while some activities in line with the ASEAN Cooperation Plan to tackle Illicit Drug Production and Trafficking in the Golden Triangle 2017-2019 were reported to the meeting.
The Meeting endorsed the ASEAN Statement to be delivered at the 62nd Session of the Commission on Narcotics Drugs High-Level Segment. The upcoming Sixth ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Drug Matters (AMMD) will adopt this Statement this year.
Viet Nam, as the host of the 6th AMMD, confirmed that the meeting of ASEAN Ministers responsible for drug matters will be convened in Hanoi in October 2018.
At the sidelines of the 39th ASOD, the ASEAN Drug Monitoring Report 2017 was launched.