Wednesday, January 11 2006 14:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: As drug trafficking becomes more sophisticated, posing greater challenges to law enforcement agencies, India today (Jan 11,2006) called for appropriate training and exchange of intelligence and expertise among nations to fight the problem.

"Appropriate training and exchange of intelligence and expertise are important force multipliers in demand and supply reduction efforts. Increasingly, bilateral, regional and international cooperation efforts must also find their due importance in our strategies," Minister of State for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal said here.

He was inaugurating the third Senior Officers' Meeting of the Pentalateral Cooperation on Drug Control among China, India, Lao, Myanmar and Thailand.

Jaiswal said India has already entered into bilateral and multilateral agreements on the issue with a large number of countries.

"Our pledges for mutual assistance in the legal sphere almost invariably endeavour to include provisions which encourage greater cooperation between the encourage greater cooperation between the contracting parties in the important sphere of drug control," he said.

Jaiswal said the two key themes for the three-day meeting are establishing an effective regime of regulation of precursor chemical and promotion of alternative development activities to wean away people from cultivating illicit crops.

In his welcome address, the NCB Director General K C Verma said the issue had to be viewed in the larger perspective of security.