To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what collaboration there has been within the Commonwealth in tackling national and international drug misuse and trafficking problems.

Successive Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings have stressed the importance of cooperation in this field. Regular and effective co-operation takes place through established channels within the United Nations, Interpol and the Customs Co-operation Council; and through close bilateral links between individual countries. A scheme relating to mutual assistance in criminal matters within the Commonwealth was launched in 1986 which will provide a framework for co-operation for countering drug and other serious international crime trafficking. The Commonwealth Secretariat is assisting Commonwealth countries through the provision of training in a number of drug-related areas.