Larijani, who is in Moscow to take part in the international conference dubbed ‘Parliamentary Members vs. Drugs’ slated for Dec. 4, told reporters upon arriving in the Russian capital that the main purpose of the visit to Moscow is to participate in the conference on the fight against drugs and the role parliaments can play in this regard.

Speaker of the Iranian Parliament also emphasized that the issue of drugs had various dimensions both in terms of diversity as well as that non-industrial drugs have become widespread in the market. “Additionally, there seems to be no control over the production of narcotics in Afghanistan.”

“Of course, some countries made presence in Afghanistan with the aim of combating terrorism and drugs though the process has given rise to increased drug production,” he underlined.

He stressed that Iran, Russia and regional countries held the right to be more sensitive to the issue of drugs, and they need to both control main sources of drugs and investigate counter-narcotics methods.

Larijani said major countries, especially Western ones, had to pay due attention to drug trafficking adding “drug trafficking will also harm Western countries and they need to feel responsibility towards the issue.”

“At the Parliamentary Members vs. Drugs conference, experiences will be shared at parliamentary level, and laws that can be effective in the area will be raised, which in turn, will ultimately lead to formation of a joint determination among countries to fight against narcotics.”

At the end of his remarks, Iran’s Parliament Speaker said bilateral meetings will also be held between Iran and Russia explaining “on the sidelines of the conference, we also intend to provide a framework for increased presence of major investment companies in Iran.”

Russian State Duma Vice-Speaker Sergey Neverov, who welcomed Larijani, at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, appreciated presence of the Iranian Parliament Speaker at the conference asserting “presence of parliamentary members at the conference reflects the seriousness of the drug issue and a joint decision needs to be made to combat narcotics.”

“We must study experience of other countries in fighting the ominous phenomenon. We also know Iran as one of the anti-narcotics pioneers in the region, and cooperation with Iranians can prove effective,” he underscored.

Neverov went on to state that, on the sidelines of the international counter-narcotics conference, bilateral meetings will be formed between Iran and Russia at parliamentary level heads to identify areas of legal support for the fight against narcotics.