TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan and the US signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance intelligence sharing and help prosecute drug trafficking rings, the American Institute in Taiwan said Thursday.

The document, signed on Aug. 18, was the first-ever MOU concluded between the US office in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US. The aim is to improve cooperation between the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

The sharing of intelligence will enhance the efficiency of investigations and prosecutions of international drug trafficking groups, according to AIT. The signing of the MOU was followed on Tuesday by the fourth annual Cross-Border Drug Enforcement Cooperation Forum, hosted at the DEA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Senior law enforcement officials from Taiwan attended the event, as did representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, US Customs and Border Protection, the US Postal Inspection Service, and other international partners.

The forum praised Taiwan’s regulation of pill press machines since March as a “significant milestone” in the fight against the production of counterfeit pills. As a result, Taiwan was the first country in Asia to serialize exported pill press machinery, making their illegal distribution much harder.

The DEA Taipei Narcotics Liaison Office received a mention for working with Taiwan law enforcement against organizations trafficking ketamine and methamphetamine from Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle to Taiwan and other Asia-Pacific areas. The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office said international efforts were targeting trafficking rings to safeguard the health and safety of the public on both sides of the Pacific.