This week, EMCDDA Director Alexis Goosdeel is making an official visit to Peru in the framework of the agency's Working Arrangement with the Peruvian national drug observatory, DEVIDA (1). This is the first such arrangement signed with a Latin-American country.
The purpose of the visit is to meet representatives of DEVIDA, Peruvian authorities and other relevant actors, to further discuss areas for strengthening dialogue and cooperation. The strategic and operational aspects of the Working Arrangement — signed in May this year — and the role of national and international partners in its implementation, will also be assessed.
Information obtained through the arrangement will provide both parties with valuable new insights into current and future drug problems and contribute to their ongoing strategic goals.
The talks will also cover the establishment of a national early-warning system in Peru and the detection of new psychoactive substances. Other topics to be discussed are health and social responses to drug problems, including prevention and treatment.
During the week, the Director will meet a number of dignitaries, including Peru's Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ignacio Higueras Hare and the EU Ambassador in Peru, Gaspar Frontini.
The EMCDDA delegation will also visit the laboratory of a maritime intelligence centre and an air force monitoring centre.
Peru is one of the countries participating in the ongoing COPOLAD III programme. It also cooperated on an ad hoc basis under COPOLAD I and II.
