India and the United States have reaffirmed commitment to strengthen bilateral counter-narcotics cooperation towards ensuring the safety and well-being of their communities. The reaffirmation came during the two-day 2nd India-U.S. Drug Policy Executive Working Group Meeting held in New Delhi last week.

 

According to a joint press release issued by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the meeting reviewed bilateral cooperation in combatting illicit drug trafficking and identified priority areas for strengthening intelligence sharing, coordinated law enforcement action, pharmaceutical supply chain integrity, and drug demand reduction. Director General, NCB, Anurag Garg led the Indian delegation and the U.S. delegation was headed by Acting Deputy Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Debbie Seguin during the meeting. In his opening remarks, Mr Garg highlighted the India Vision Roadmap 2026-2029 which outlines a comprehensive strategy to combat the illicit narcotics trade. DG NCB also highlighted India’s adoption of a network-centric approach to decisively dismantle drug trafficking networks by targeting their entire ecosystem, including financiers, suppliers, facilitators and logistical networks.    

 

ONDCP Director Sara Carter highlighted that the bilateral cooperation between the United States and India is vital to disrupting transnational drug trafficking networks and preventing the diversion of synthetic drugs and chemical precursors into global markets. She emphasized that the strategy must be equally targeted, and said that both countries must partner across borders to secure the commercial supply chains they exploit.