Counter-narcotics

Drugs are one of the gravest threats to the long-term security and prosperity of the Afghan people. Sustainable drug elimination strategies take time. The Afghan Government has made clear its commitment to tackling the trade.

The UK is working with the Afghan Government and the international community to bring about a sustainable reduction in the cultivation, production and trafficking of opium.

We are helping the Afghan Government in its efforts to implement its National Drug Control Strategy (NDCS) and to turn international interest for counter-narcotics into support and resources.

The Taliban derive economic benefits from the drug trade. It is in their interest and that of the traffickers to undermine the Afghan Government's efforts to establish stability. In the south, they encourage farmers to grow poppy and to resist eradication.

In areas of Afghanistan where access to governance, security and development has improved, drug cultivation reductions achieved have been sustained.

The UK supports and agrees with the Afghan position.

Opium poppy eradication policy and implementation is the responsibility of the Afghan Government, who sees it as an important means of deterrence in its crackdown on the drugs trade. We believe eradication should be targeted where the most opportunities for legal livelihoods exist – as set out in the NDCS.

The Afghan Government has expressed its determination to carry out eradication of targeted areas in Helmand, and across the south of the country.