Representatives of leading countries to discuss issues of combating drug trafficking

As the event organizers told RIA Novosti, the London meeting of representatives of governments and public organizations from around the world is being held as part of the global campaign "Shared Responsibility" under the leadership of Vice President of Colombia Francisco Santos.

"Shared Responsibility" is an initiative by the Colombian government to involve Western countries in working to solve the problems of drug supplies to consumers in Europe.

The forum is intended to become a key event of the campaign.

The meeting will be attended by representatives from Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Finland, Poland, Great Britain, observers from Belgium and the United States, as well as senior officials from Europol and the UN.

Russia will be represented at the London forum by State Secretary and Deputy Director of the Russian Federal Service for Drug Control Alexander Fedorov.

As RIA Novosti was told by the Russian Embassy in Great Britain, it is expected that at the end of the London meeting a bilateral agreement will be signed between Russia and Colombia on joint measures to combat the drug threat.

Colombia spends about a billion dollars annually to combat drug trafficking, and these funds could be used for education, social and housing projects.

"However, the presence of drug-funded rebel groups in Colombia is a concern and a risk to global security," the campaign organisers say.

"Colombia believes that producing and consuming countries must work together to develop a common response to the threat that cocaine production, supply and abuse pose to the world," said the organisers of the London event.

The UK leg of the campaign has already seen events in Birmingham and Basingstoke, using five Colombian women of varying ages and backgrounds who have been victims of drug-funded terrorism as case studies.