In some cases not all 22 chemical listed in the convention were regulated, but the chemicals most pertinent for each country were covered. Since many of these laws and regulations were based on the recommendations of the CATF, they were compatible, thereby facilitating international cooperation, a key CATF objective. The need for international cooperation, most importantly information exchange, became more apparent in 1995 as individual control regimes became more efficient and traffickers were forced to seek alternative sources of supply. However, there is a reluctance on the part of many governments to share information on proposed transactions except with the importing government which would be aware of the transactions through its import control procedures. The vast majority of transactions are innocent, and in highly competitive international chemical commerce, exporters do not want the confidentiality of their transactions compromised by sharing with third parties.
Some governments have laws precluded sharing information received as part of a regulatory process.
During 1995, at the policy level, we continued to urge adoption of chemical control regimes by governments that do not have them, and wider and more effective international cooperation in their implmentation by those that do. Concurrently, at the enforcement level, we continued to strengthen cooperation and communication among enforcement agencies. In September 1995, DEA, with financial and administrative support from the European Commission and with the cooperation of the Turkish Government, held a major chemical control conference in Istanbul. Delegations from 22 Middle Eastern, Balkan, European, Central and South Asian countries attended. It is too early to assess the long-term results of the conference, but shortly thereafter a DEA team visited Tajikistan, one of the participating governments, to find a government receptive and eager for effective law enforcement cooperation.