A top mainland anti-drug official called on Friday for greater cooperation between Hong Kong, Macau and mainland authorities in the fight against illegal drugs, saying the Greater Bay Area's economy and strong transport links made it attractive to narcotics smugglers.

The head of the Ministry of Public Security's narcotics control bureau, Wei Xiaojun, made his remarks at the opening ceremony of the first-ever "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Anti-drug Summit", which is hosted at police headquarters in Hong Kong.

"The pressure to prevent drug imports from abroad and a domestic demand rebound continues to increase," he said.

"From the perspective of the Greater Bay Area, this region has a developed economy, convenient transportation and a high degree of openness, and has always been a target for international drug trafficking groups."

Chief Secretary Eric Chan said the government has always taken issues involving illegal drugs seriously, noting the number of reported drug abusers has dropped 70 percent compared to the end of the 1970s.

But still, he added, the government will not let up and has been clamping down on new types of drugs, such as etomidate.

"Hong Kong has reacted swiftly by amending the law to classify etomidate as a dangerous drug, while conducting a severe crackdown," Chan said.

"Through publicity campaigns, we have been educating the public on the harm that drugs do."

Also at the anti-drugs summit were Secretary for Security Chris Tang, Action Committee Against Narcotics chairman Donald Li, Guangdong Narcotics Control Commission deputy director Liang Ruiguo and commissioner-general of Macau's Unitary Police Service Leong Man-cheong.

The conference saw about 300 drug-control experts from the three regions -- as well as guests from Singapore -- exchange strategies over education, intelligence sharing and enforcement.