The Office of Narcotic Control Board (ONCB) of Thailand organized the Second Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of the Pentalateral Cooperation on Drug Control among China, India, the Lao PDR, Myanmar and Thailand on 21-23 April 2004 at Dusit Resort Hotel, Pattaya, Chonburi. H.E. Mr. Phongthep Thepkanjana, Minister of Justice of Thailand hosted the welcoming dinner on 20 April 2004 and presided over the opening ceremony on 21 April 2004 at 0900 hours. The meeting attended by delegations of senior officials from these five countries. The Governor of Chonburi Province, Mr. Pisit Ketphasook also attended the opening ceremony and deliver a welcoming speech.

This meeting was aimed to reiterate Thailand’s commitment to fight against narcotic drugs and to strengthen its cooperation with the participating countries of the Pentalateral Cooperation on Drug Control. The cooperation will focus on solving the supply-side problem, i.e. production of narcotic drugs, which was raised in several fora, and translate the commitments of these countries into concrete effects. In this regard, working approaches and methods of drug control authorities in participating countries need to be steered and moved in the same direction. These approaches and methods of work in solving drug problems with sustainable effects also need to be thoroughly considered. The substantive matter of this meeting, therefore, emphasised on the control of precursors and essential chemicals used for production of narcotic drugs as well as the alternative development activities among the participating countries for crop substitution as stipulated in the decision of the First SOM.

Thailand presented progress report on the success and outcomes of the control of precursors and essential chemicals according to the decisions of the First SOM. The Thai authority concerns have been able to detect, prevent and suppress more numbers of smuggling of these precursors and chemicals along the borders. The statistic report shows that with the cooperation on suppression of smuggling from Myanmar, the numbers of caffeine smuggling have obviously reduced. The First SOM has helped enhancing both formal and informal coordination among the five participating countries.

During the Second SOM, Thailand has put forward proposals that will call for the adoption of extra preventive measures or regulations to control caffeine by the participating countries that could be targeted by the traffickers as the future route for drug smuggling. Thailand will propose to India and the Lao PDR to establish zoning to control industrial usage of caffeine which has proven somewhat successful in Thailand.

In addition, Thailand will propose the Meeting consider guidelines for cooperation on training of personnel for drug control and suppression by using resources and know-how that are available within the participating countries. For instance, Thailand will present guidelines for identifying the origins or sources of production by using drug profiling or back tracking investigation with drug fingerprint identification technique. India may present techniques for using remote sensing in helping identify the sources of production. These issues will be further discussed in the Meeting.

As for alternative development activities, Thailand reported to the Meeting of its experience in implementing alternative development project at Yawng Kha in Myanmar in cooperation with the Myanmar government, which also showed that support from foreign countries and international organisations was very much needed in implementing the project activities. Thailand also put emphasis on eradication of poverty and promote economic cooperation within the framework of Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS). The framework facilitated the import of agricultural products from neighbouring countries. Meanwhile, China has also begun purchasing agricultural products by using tax exemption measure.

It was expected that the Meeting will further enhance cooperation in a more systematic way in solving drug problems that will also have more consistency and continuity in implementation of collective measures. The participating countries have based their cooperation on the principle of partnership in the fight against drug problems. Moreover, the Meeting represented the Thai government’s determination and its tireless effort to overcome the proliferation of narcotic drugs in order to achieve the sustainability in solving drug-related problems. Thai government also attached great importance to strengthen the relations with neighbouring countries through the building up of trust and friendship among the drug control agencies.