Joint Statement: Fifth Meeting of the North American Drug Dialogue

Representatives from Mexico, Canada, and the United States met virtually on February 10, 2022, for the Fifth North American Drug Dialogue (NADD). The NADD is the result of a commitment made by the heads of government of the three countries at the 2016 North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS) to develop a trilateral forum to address current and emerging drug threats facing North America.

At the NALS held in November 2021, the presidents of Mexico and the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada agreed to continue the trilateral dialogue on drugs and associated public health and safety concerns. They also agreed to collaborate towards adopting a framework that expands our cooperation under the NADD including updated strategic objectives.

At the February 10 meeting, the three countries reviewed the progress made since the last NADD meeting in December 2019, focusing on actions undertaken to address the production and trafficking of illegal drugs, the public health harms associated with drug use, overdoses, and illicit finance.

To further advance these efforts, the three countries will continue working together, particularly to:

• Finalize and adopt a framework that encompasses a comprehensive approach to address drug-related issues;
• Improve and advance cooperative efforts and information sharing to better understand and respond to the North American illegal drug production and trafficking environment, helping to better protect our countries from the harms associated with illegal drug trafficking;
• Continue to facilitate information exchange of best practices to strengthen our public health approaches to address harms associated with drug use and overdoses; and,
• Strengthen cooperation to address illicit finance activities.