Russia plans to form corporation for cooperation with Central Asia to cut drug trafficking
MOSCOW. May 16 (Interfax) - Russia plans to start forming a corporation for cooperation with Central Asian countries by the end of this year to lower the intensity of drug trafficking, Federal Drug Control Service Director Viktor Ivanov said.
"We are proposing a real mechanism - a corporation for cooperation with Central Asian countries. This is a bona fide economic instrument, an open joint stock company in which the government will hold 51% and the rest will be distributed for free amongst Russian leading companies," Ivanov told reporters at the State Duma on Thursday.
Projects in water management, construction of hydropower plants and other areas may be executed in Central Asia, he said.
"That will create a significant number of jobs and estrange local residents from the drug dealing business," Ivanov said.
He said the project has gained support of the administrations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Documentation may be prepared and coordination procedures may be completed before the end of this year. Russia will contribute 2 billion rubles, and the rest will come from big companies, Ivanov said.
