Russia and Tajikistan have signed a new three-year agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and narcotics-related crime, with Moscow allocating more than 400 million rubles to support the program.

The agreement was concluded between Tajikistan’s Drug Control Agency (DCA) under the President and Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, The Caspian Post reports via the Russian Embassy in Tajikistan.

The new program focuses on enhancing the technical capabilities and operational capacity of Tajikistan’s anti-drug agency, while improving mechanisms for combating drug-related crime and illicit narcotics trafficking.

The document was signed by Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev and DCA Director Zafar Samad during a virtual ceremony attended by Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Semyon Grigoryev.

Under the agreement, Russia will provide more than 413 million rubles to implement the initiative over the next three years.

The previous cooperation program between the Russian Interior Ministry and Tajikistan’s Drug Control Agency was in force from 2023 to 2025, during which Russia allocated more than 250 million rubles to support anti-narcotics efforts in the Central Asian republic.