UNIS/VIC/101
4 July 2003
President of Mongolia Visits UNOV, Signs Cooperation Agreement on Drugs and Crime
VIENNA, 4 July (UN Information Service) -- The President of Mongolia, H.E. Natsagiin Bagabandi, currently on an official trip to Austria, visited the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) today. In a meeting with the representatives of Vienna-based UN organizations -- Antonio Maria Costa, Director-General, UNOV, and Executive Director, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Renato Fornocaldo, Managing Director, Division of Administration, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Pierce Corden, Director of Administration, Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), and Pieter de Klerk, Director, External Relations, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) -- the President discussed Mongolia's cooperation with the organizations represented.
President Bagabandi and Mr. Costa signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Mongolian Government and UNODC in the field of drug control and crime prevention, including technical cooperation; rapid assessment of the drug and crime situation in Mongolia and revision of the national programme in this area; training activities to build the capacity of relevant government agencies; and support to Mongolia in ratification and implementation of United Nations conventions on drugs and crime.
As an important first step in long-term cooperation, UNODC is assisting in the preparation of a national seminar, scheduled for September, for Mongolian policy-makers, investigators and prosecutors. The seminar will focus on the ratification and implementation of the Transnational Organized Crime Convention including its Three Protocols, and on anti-corruption measures.
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