President Alexander Kwasniewski, Professor Michel Kazatchkine and Vytenis Andriukaitis, Commissioners of the Regional Commission on Drug Policy (ECECACD) were received by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana on June 19, 2024.

Yerzhan Saparbekovich Sadenov, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Yerzhan Khozeevich Kazykhanov, special adviser on international affairs to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan also attended the meeting.

The meeting focused on the issue of drugs and drug policy in the region, drug dependence treatment and the continuation and expansion of the opioid agonist therapy (OAT) program in Kazakhstan. Opioid agonist therapy is recommended by the World Health Organization as the best standard of care for opioid dependence.