An EMCDDA delegation is in Baku today for the agency's first visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan under the EU4Monitoring Drugs II project (EU4MD II). The visit is organised in close cooperation with the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the EU Delegation to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The purpose of the two-day visit is to discuss: the role of the EMCDDA (both within the EU and beyond its borders); the drug situation in Europe and Azerbaijan; and cooperation between the EMCDDA and Azerbaijan until 2027.
On the agenda are meetings at the: Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Science and Education, Republican AIDS Centre, State Customs Committee and State Statistical Committee.
The delegation also will visit the Forensic Sciences Centre of the Ministry of Justice to discuss the next steps for participation in EU4MD II activities. The talks will also cover the future European network of forensic and toxicological laboratories, to be set up under the agency's new mandate which enters into application in July 2024. This network is aimed at fostering information exchange on new trends and developments and training national forensic drug experts.
Additional meetings will take place to discuss the implementation of the European School Survey on Alcohol and Other Substances (ESPAD) in 2024.
EU4MD II is a five-year project (January 2023–December 2027) which focuses on the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) area. It aims to:
- strengthen cooperation and share expertise on monitoring the drugs problem with the countries in the ENP area;
- boost the technical expertise and capacity of the ENP partners to develop and contribute to contemporary drug monitoring and response systems;
- increase the capacity to collect and exchange data in order to co-produce strategic analyses on emerging trends and threats in drug markets bordering the EU; and
- enhance the preparedness of ENP partners to respond to emerging drug-related health and security threats in the ENP region.
Azerbaijan has been participating in the EU4MD project since 2019, through expert group meetings, network activities and training events.
