From Sep. 9 to 11, a delegation led by Mr. Hao Wei, the First Deputy Chairman ofInternational Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and a professor of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, and Mr. Imrich Betko, an Drug Control Officer in the INCB Secretariat, paid a visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and were received by Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of the UAE.

Hao Wei and his delegation exchanged ideas on national legislation, policies and programs for drug control and issues concerning treatment and rehabilitation with the heads of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Justice Laboratory of National Police General Headquarters, the General Administration of Customs, the Attorney General's Chambers of the Ministry of Justice, the National Rehabilitation Center and other institutions of the UAE. After that, they had an in-depth understanding of the status quo and trend of narcotics in the UAE, and on behalf of the INCB, proposed specific suggestions on issues related to narcotic control in the UAE.

Hao Wei also communicated with Prof. Hamad Al Ghafri, the Director of the National Rehabilitation Center of the UAE, and other experts on alcohol and drug addiction treatment, rehabilitation, relapse prevention, alcohol or drug addicts’ returning to the society and relevant mental health policies, services and training programs, discussing about deep cooperation between the UAE government and related institutions and the CSU Institute of Mental Health. Besides, he invited Prof. Ghafri to attend the Fifth WHO Expert Meeting on Behavioral Addiction and Public Health which will be held in Changsha, China from Nov. 22 to 24 this year.

(Prof. Hao Wei is warmly received by Mr. Saif binZayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Prime Minister andMinister ofInterior of the UAE)

Source: The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University