TNAG-0415-FCO40-461-Review-of-narcotics-problem-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 19

International Socio-Political

Cooperation

In recent years as the climate of international security has im- proved, governments have been able to focus more actively on the pos- sibilities for international cooperation in widening areas: the impact of social and technological change, scientific research to enhance the quality of life, greater international understanding through educa- tional and cultural exchanges, increased world mobility creating a now people-to-people diplomacy.

The expanding scope of international collaboration has happily coincided with the imperative for the world's nations to work together on global problems that demand global solutions, some of which are treated in the following chapters: the deterioration of the environ- ment, the spread of drug addiction, the persistent plight of refugees and displaced persons, humanitarian relief and assistance, issuco af- fecting social groups such as youth and labor. The lessening of world tensions should permit governments increasingly to undertake joint efforts toward their resolution.

NARCOTICS CONTROL

With a heroin addict population in excess of 500,000, the U.S. Government is determined to combat the problem of drug abuse on all fronts. To complement the full range of domestic measures, Secretary Rogers, who chairs the Cabinet Committee on International Narcotics Control, has directed that effective narcotics control be one of the major objectives of our diplomacy in contacts with other governments. The Secretary emphasized this priority at a White House Conference on Drug Abuse held February 3, 1972, stating:

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