MOSCOW, April 26 (RAPSI) - Russia annually trains 50-100 officers for the Afghan drug police, Federal Drug Control Service Chief Viktor Ivanov said on Friday.

"We prepare 50-100 drug policemen every year at Russian training centers and also provide on-site training in Central Asian cities. We train policemen for Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. Our instructors are now working in Bishkek," he said.

Ivanov said he supports Russia's economic presence in Afghanistan.

"I am a supporter of Russia's economic presence in Afghanistan," he said. "There is strong competition out there for developing local mineral resources. China has obtained access to the country's copper deposits. Japan, the United States and several European countries have followed suit. Russia shouldn't lag behind."

Afghanistan is rich in mineral resources, he stressed.