Minister of State Kitt's meeting with the head of the UN Office for Drugs and Crime, 17 October 2003
17/10/2003
Mr Tom Kitt TD Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs met this morning with Mr Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the UN Office for Drugs and Crime- the UNODC. Mr Costa's Office is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and crime and is involved in promoting alternative development programmes to provide new economic opportunities to regions such as Afghanistan and Vietnam, that are in transition from opium poppy, coca and cannabis cultivation.
Development Cooperation Ireland has given almost €1 million to the UNODC over the last two years and is now one of its major donors. Minister of State Kitt said that while it may be hard to immediately see the link between under-development in Afghanistan and Ireland “there is in fact far too much evidence of the social and economic development challenges facing Afghanistan on the streets of Dublin”.
