Transcripts
Remarks By U.S. Ambassador Richard E. Hoagland
Vehicle Transfer Ceremony
October 28, 2009
Ministry of Interior, Astana; 11:30 a.m.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure for me to be here today, on behalf of the people of the United States, to present these vehicles to our colleagues in the Ministry of the Interior. I hope that these vehicles will aid them in the good work they are already doing to fight against drug trafficking.
Seventeen GAZel vans will be distributed to the counter-narcotics divisions of 14 oblasts, Almaty, and Astana. Four VAZ NIVA jeeps will be given to the counter-narcotics divisions in Zhambyl and South Kazakhstan.
We will transfer two more GAZel vans to the Committee on Combating Drugs of the Ministry of Interior next month.
As we all know, the Zhambyl Oblast Department of Interior is fighting marijuana in the Chu Valley, and South Kazakhstan is stemming the traffic of heroin from Afghanistan. The Government of the United States will continue to cooperate with all counter-narcotics divisions to strengthen their capacity to stop drug trafficking.
One of our highest priorities is to strengthen international cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking. The problem affects all countries and can only be fought by joining our efforts.
Drugs are a major threat to both the security and the health of our citizens. The narcotics business not only earns its leaders high profits, but also funds terrorism.
The transit of narcotics also increases the number of drug addicts in the country because a percentage stays in the domestic market.
On behalf of the U.S. Government, I would like to thank the police officers present here today, and your colleagues, for the difficult and dangerous job that you do day and night, every day of the year.
The United States appreciates Kazakhstan's efforts to fight drug trafficking. We've cooperated well together, and we look forward to many more years of cooperation.
Thank you for your attention.
