DUSHANBE, October 21, 2008, Asia-Plus -- All key persons in charge of security in the region have gathered in Dushanbe for the ministerial conference on “Border Management and Drug Control in Central Asia” and I consider this as the first success of this event, the EU Special Representative for Central Asia and for the Crisis in Georgia Pierre Morel said in an interview with Asia-Plus. 

Mr. Morel expressed confidence that the Dushanbe conference would foster closer regional cooperation and identify ways to strengthen efforts to combat drug trafficking and transnational crime.  

 According to him, efforts of international community with respect to drug control do not yield necessary results without active participation of the governments of Central Asia’s states in tackling that problem.  

“If donor countries do not increase assistance to development of the economies of Afghanistan and other countries of the region, we will not gain significant deal by carrying out military operations and punishing drug lords only,” Mr. Morel said.