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UNITED NATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE VIENNA (UNIS)

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UNIS/NAR/1094
19 January 2011

Russian Federation Pledges More Than US$ 7 million to UNODC

VIENNA, 19 January (UN Information Service) – The Government of the Russian Federation has pledged US$7 million in voluntary funding to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for 2010, bringing its total contribution for 2010 to US$ 7.5 million. It also established an annual contribution level of US$ 2 million starting in 2011.
A pledge letter to that effect was conveyed to the Executive Director of UNODC, Yury Fedotov, by the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations at Vienna, Alexander Zmeyevsky.

Thanking the Ambassador for the generous contribution to his Office, Mr. Fedotov highlighted that he was “deeply grateful for this important pledge that will enable the Office to boost its programmes in critical areas”.

“This pledge is proof of the importance lent by the Russian Government to fighting the threats to international security. The contribution will bolster the work of UNODC as the main United Nations body countering the complex challenges of organized crime, illicit drug trafficking and international terrorism,” stressed the Russian Ambassador.

The Russian Government also wished to contribute US$500,000 annually from 2011 to 2013 to support the State Drug Control Agency of Kyrgyzstan. Central Asia is a key conduit for Afghan heroin smuggled to Europe, much of it entering through the Russian Federation via the so-called Northern Route. Another part of the annual contribution will go to UNODC’s Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries programme, helping to strengthen responses to the manifold threats posed by illicit drugs, among them drug trafficking, drug-related HIV/AIDS, corruption, money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

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