The 34th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Drug Matters (ASOD), which Myanmar hosts for the second time, kicked off in Yangon Tuesday to seek adoption of drug control strategies in the region.

The four-day meeting is attended by officials from the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN member countries, representatives from ASEAN dialogue partners -- China, Japan, South Korea and India and those from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of the United States, Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

During Tuesday's session, heads of delegations presented their respective countries' reports, which was followed by discussions by the working group on prevention education, treatment and rehabilitation, law enforcement and alternative development.

Wednesday's session is to adopt the reports of the working group and touch on new project proposals as well as establishment of ASEAN-Narco, while Thursday's session will adopt the reports of the ASOD which will be followed by ASOD plus China, Japan and South Korea Coordination Meetings.

Another ASOD plus India Coordination Meeting will bring the 34th ASOD to an end on Friday.

ASEAN Declaration on Drug-Free ASEAN 2015 was adopted at the ASEAN Summit in 2012 with the regional leaders encouraging ASEAN's concerted efforts in addressing the menace of narcotic drugs and to achieve goal of ASEAN drug free in 2015.

Two special ministerial meetings on drug matters were convened over the last two years with one in Thailand in 2012 and another one in Brunei recently. More such ASEAN ministerial meeting on drugs beyond 2015 is being planned.

Myanmar Police Chief Police Major General U Zaw Win told the ASOD opening session that the region is continuously challenged by the criminal organized groups on illicit drug production, trafficking and other related crimes like arms smuggling, human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

As experienced by almost all ASEAN member states, the operatives from West African countries continue to be a threat, he said, calling for regional efforts to share timely information and encouraging ASOD to explore ways for better engagement with counterpart agencies from concerned countries.

"With the smuggling of precursor chemicals into the country from some neighboring countries, a new challenge-- production, trafficking and abuse of ATS has emerged. The increase in the trafficking of cold tablets containing Pseudoephedrine has been six years high and most of the trafficking are from India border," he pointed out, adding that "We are now in close collaboration with India counterparts for more stringent measures at border checkpoints."

Since the goal of ASEAN Drug Free 2015 is less than two years away, ASOD stressed the need to redouble its efforts for maximum attainment of the goal and strengthen cross-sectoral collaboration, closer law enforcement cooperation, regional project planing and sharing of research data.

As part of its cooperation for elimination of drugs in the region, Myanmar claimed making progress in implementation of three alternative development programs in collaboration with Thailand, China and UNODC.

Under its national drug eradication campaign, Myanmar also claimed a total of over 23,770 hectares of opium poppy were destroyed in 2012 and 12,257 hectares more in 2013 so far.

Myanmar hosted the 24th ASOD meeting in 2003 and the last 33rd ASOD meeting was held in Malaysia in 2012.

In May this year, Myanmar also hosted six-nation ministerial meeting on drug control in Nay Phi Taw involving Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam as well as UNODC.

A Nay Pyi Taw Declaration on drug control cooperation was then issued reaffirming their commitment to overcome the drug problem in East Asian region and assure their efforts to solve the drug problem in the region.