Program and Event

U.S. and Laos Mark 18 Years of Counternarcotics Cooperation

Ambassador Ravic R. Huso and Minister Soubanh Srithirath sign the 2007 agreements on counternarcotics, assisted by Embassy administrative assistant Chanlasy Phanthalangsy (left)

On September 27, Ambassador Ravic R. Huso and Minister to the President Soubanh Srithirath signed the 2007 agreements on counternarcotics cooperation, providing Laos with an additional $389,000 for opium crop control, drug demand reduction, and law enforcement programs. Crop control projects provide livelihood alternatives for former poppy cultivators, such as livestock and marketable licit crops.  Demand reduction programs fund drug education and addict treatment. Law enforcement assistance provides equipment to counter drug agencies to make their work safer and more effective. The 2007 agreements mark 18 years of highly successful Lao-American cooperation against narcotics trafficking and addiction.