The treaty, which has taken a year or so of negotiations to come to fruition, includes an extradition clause. It can be viewed as a precursor of the ‘Declaration on the fight against cross-border organised drug crime’ signed by the governments of the  Netherlands and Belgium in February. One of this declaration’s key elements involved closer cooperation with the ‘countries of origin’ and the transit countries, and to bring their intelligence and enforcement on par.

Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius, the Dutch Minister of Justice, called the draft treaty a “big and necessary step forward”. Meanwhile, a clause covering “reciprocal legal assistance” will sanction joint investigations and police interrogations.

“This will enable both countries to react quicker to each other’s requests, for instance in respect of prosecution,” she said. “With it, we can destroy earning models.”

The Dutch Minister of Justice acknowledged that the Netherlands are still a key hub in international drugs trafficking. The Dutch and Belgian ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp are the main European gateways for drugs, mainly cocaine from South America. Therefore, she is seeking similar deals with other Latin American countries, such as Peru and Ecuador.

Speaking with WorldCargo News earlier this year, Hapag-Lloyd noted that all Central and South American westcoast countries, including Chile are being used as points of shipment but are viewed with less suspicion than Colombia and other countries in Central America. Hapag-Lloyd was among the multi-party Antwerp ‘Declaration’s signatories, together with carriers MSC, Maersk, CMA CGM and Seatrade.