"I would like to thank the DEA for the good cooperation and all countries who have attended this very important conference in the fight against drugs," BNN head Petrus Reinhard Golose said in a statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, the meeting of law enforcement officers dealing with narcotics issues from various Far East Asian countries is being held again in Nusa Dua, Bali.
The International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC) is a regional cooperation meeting focused on eradicating illicit drug trafficking.
The regional meeting, which is being attended by 98 participants from 14 Far East Asian countries, is taking place from August 2 to 4, 2022, at Merusaka Hotel, Nusa Dua, Bali.
The implementation of the Far East Regional IDEC Working Group is part of the implementation of BNN's hard power approach to deal with narcotics issues.
"Various issues related to illicit trafficking and narcotics smuggling were discussed together in this meeting," Golose said.
Narcotics crime is a transnational organized crime, he added. Therefore, handling narcotics crimes requires special strategies and strong cooperation from various countries.
The ongoing meeting, he said, is expected to be a forum for countries across the world, especially from East Asia and the Pacific, to strengthen ranks in the war against drugs.
The Far East Regional IDEC Working Group was officially opened by the BNN head on Tuesday.
The BNN had earlier implemented an anti-narcotics campaign with student choir groups from 28 countries that participated in the 11th Bali International Choir Festival (BICF) in Bali.
Under the activity, thousands of students from several Indonesian campuses were designated as ambassadors for the anti-narcotics campaign.
"This is a series of commemorating HANI (International Anti-Narcotics Day/World Drug Day) last month, whose peak ended today (July 28), and I thank the Bandung Choral Society for continuing to work together to organize the 'war on narcotics', 'sing against drugs', that there is no need to use banned substances in singing," Golose said.
The festival aligned with BNN's anti-narcotics campaign called “sing against drugs,” he informed after the event.
He also expressed the hope that the BICF would not only serve as a platform for anti-narcotics campaigns but also support the revival of Bali's tourism and the activities of the Indonesian G20 Presidency.
"Hopefully, this joint activity (also) welcomes the G20 where Indonesia is (holding) the presidency. Hence, we support the activities (of tourism recovery) of the Bali regional government, national activities, and (at the international stage), we voice the 'war on drugs' by singing," the BNN chief stated.
The 11th BICF, which had not been held for several years due to the pandemic, was organized from July 25–28 in a hybrid format at the Dharma Negara Alaya Building, Denpasar.
The choir festival was attended by 93 choral groups from 28 countries, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Greece, Nigeria, South Africa, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, Guatemala, and Panama.
Related news: BNN holds anti-narcotics campaigns with choir groups from 28 nations
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Translator: Putu Indah, Azis Kurmala
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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