“The Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, General of the Police of the Russian Federation Vladimir Kolokoltsev and the Commander of the Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hossein Ashtari held a bilateral meeting in Beijing,” reported the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation Irina Volk.

The Chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, welcoming his Iranian counterpart, expressed the opinion that regular meetings at the level of chiefs of ministries would further strengthen the police cooperation between the two countries. Vladimir Kolokoltsev stressed that “the signing of the Program of Joint Actions, prepared to implement the Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, will give a new impetus to our work in a number of key areas.”

When discussing the areas of cooperation, the Russian Minister noted the promising prospects of sharing practical experience and information of mutual interest, especially in the field of countering terrorism and extremism.

In addition, there was discussed the expanding cooperation in countering the drug threat, including through coordinated operational search activities to block the channels of drug smuggling. “A successful example of such interaction,” the head of the Russian agency called the participation of Iranian partners in the international sub-regional anti-drug operation “Channel – Western barrier”, held in May-June of this year.