Deputy Minister of Public Security on working trip to Australia

Deputy Minister of Public Security Lieut. Gen Le Quoc Hung presents gift to AFP Deputy Commissioner for International and Specialist Capabilities Lesa Gale (Photo: VNA)

Canberra (VNA) – A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Minister of Public Security Lieut. Gen Le Quoc Hung visited and held working sessions with Australian law enforcement agencies from October 22-28, as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Australia diplomatic ties.

On October 25, Hung held talks with Deputy Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for International and Specialist Capabilities Lesa Gale, during which they vowed to working closely together and with other countries in the region to prevent, combat and suppress various types of crimes while respecting the existing laws of each country and international law. They emphasised the importance of early prevention of criminal threats, enhancing law enforcement cooperation and strengthening bilateral collaboration in the fight against transnational organised, cyber, human and drug trafficking, and money laundering crimes.

The Vietnamese delegation suggested that the AFP continue partnering with Australian judicial agencies to facilitate the extradition of sentenced persons from Australia to Vietnam as proposed by Vietnam, in line with international law and the laws of both countries.

Discussing joint work in digital transformation, the Vietnamese wished that Australia, a leading nation with experience and modern digital transformation infrastructure, would help the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) build an information centre and a population database.

The host expressed willingness to assist the MoPS in sharing expertise and experience in building e-Government, data centres and databases for digital transformation; developing the necessary skills to step up digital transformation through training courses, workshops and knowledge exchange initiatives. Both sides agreed to explore the building of a cooperation agreement to provide a legal framework for collaboration in this field.

The same day, the Vietnamese delegation visited the Canberra Data Centres and the National Situation Room (NSR) of Australia.

On October 26, they held a working session with the Australian Department of Home Affairs’ Security Intelligence Organisation, during which they pledged to tighten their relationships, enhance experience sharing, and improve the capability of their cybersecurity personnel.

Hung proposed that both sides consider building a bilateral agreement on enhancing cooperation in cybersecurity and combating cyber and high-tech crimes, via the envoy in charge of important cyber and technology issues at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Working with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), the Vietnamese official suggested that ACIC, through the AFP Office in Vietnam, share information with the MoPS regarding the activities of criminals in both countries, especially in cyber and economic crimes, money laundering, human trafficking, and other areas of ACIC’s strength./.