ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU), the United Nations (UN) and African regional economic communities on Tuesday commended recent rigorous measures by the Guinea-Bissau government to combat an increasing trend of drug trafficking in the West African country.
"The joint mission welcomes the stringent measures taken by the government in response to the increase in drug trafficking in the country," according to a joint statement issued on Tuesday by the AU, UN, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP).
The joint mission, comprising experts from the four international and regional organizations, also "encouraged the government of Guinea-Bissau to continue efforts to shed light on the recent seizure of nearly two tons of cocaine."
In June this year, the 55-member pan African bloc had expressed its "deep concern" over the increasing trend of drug-related crimes in Guinea-Bissau.
The AU had also urged authorities in Guinea-Bissau to take appropriate measures to halt the growing problem, which "remains Guinea-Bissau's major security concern and contributes to the instability of the country."
It also "urged the government of Guinea-Bissau to strengthen the national laws to be able to address the drug-related crimes."
Since the mid-2000s, the illicit cocaine trade has become increasingly active in Guinea-Bissau.
