According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the total opium poppy cultivation area in Afghanistan was estimated at 263,000 hectares in 2018.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the total opium poppy cultivation area in Afghanistan was estimated at 263,000 hectares in 2018, 6.4 thousand tons of opium were obtained.

A major forum organized in Uzbekistan and aimed at further intensification of international cooperation in combating the sale of narcotic drugs in the Near and Middle East, provides for new practical measures in this direction. The event will last until September 27.

The meeting was organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in Central Asia and the National Information-Analytical Centre on Drug Control under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Representatives from Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Germany, India, Italy, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, the United Kingdom, the United States, Yemen, as well as experts from international organizations are attending the session.

The current state of regional cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking was discussed on the first day of the event. On the second day, participants exchanged experience.

The issue of further expansion of operational exchange of information on combating drug addiction was considered at the forum.