Washington, D.C.: US President Donald Trump has welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian government’s efforts to tackle illicit opium poppy cultivation, as India has been included in the US list of countries identified as major drug transit or illicit drug-producing nations.
In an official statement, the US said, “I welcome Prime Minister Modi and the Government of India’s efforts to address illicit opium poppy cultivation and bolster supply chain integrity. I look forward to continued cooperation through the United States-India Drug Policy Framework.”
India is among 23 countries on the list, alongside Pakistan and China. The US clarified that being included does not by itself indicate that a government has failed in its fight against drugs, citing geographic, commercial and economic factors that can enable drug production or transit.
The US said Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma and Colombia had failed to demonstrate substantial efforts over the past year to meet their international counternarcotics obligations.
Trump also highlighted what he described as progress against drug trafficking, pointing to border security, drug seizures and declining overdose deaths.
He claimed his administration had “saved tens of thousands of American lives” and said US authorities had recorded major drug seizures.
