Lt. Gen. Nguyen Thanh Son, head of the Foreign Relations Department under the Ministry of Public Security (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has been playing an active and responsible role in ASEAN cooperation in fighting cross-border crimes, Lt. Gen. Nguyen Thanh Son, head of the Foreign Relations Department under the Ministry of Public Security, has said.
Son made the remarks in an article published ahead of the 20th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC-20), scheduled to be held online on September 24.
In his article, the officer pointed to serious crime developments in the region, especially terrorism, human trafficking, illegal migration, drug crime, arms smuggling, money laundering, high-tech and economic crime, piracy, wood and wildlife trafficking.
Given this, intra-bloc cooperation has been considered an effective way to ensure security, safety and prosperity of each member state and the entire region, contributing to consolidating the sustainable development of the ASEAN Community, he said.
Vietnam has officially joined the SOMTC and AMMTC mechanisms since 2003, Son said, adding that the country and other ASEAN nations are now members of many international conventions and agreements in this sphere, notably the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC) signed in 2003.
The grouping has also made stride in anti-terrorism and the fight against human trafficking, especially the trafficking of women and children.
Son highlighted Vietnam’s efforts in promoting relevant frameworks and mechanisms in the region by completing legal documents, sharing information and experience, and joining hands in implementing and funding major projects in this regard, bilaterally and within cooperation frameworks between ASEAN and its partners.
Vietnamese competent agencies have maintained their close coordination with law enforcement agencies in Southeast Asia in the combat, he added.
Vietnam expects to propose establishing a direct communication line between ministers of AMMTC in order to enable them to promptly exchange information and tackle relevant issues in the time ahead.
Son said AMMTC-14 will offer an opportunity for the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security to prove its constructive role in joint efforts in handling thorny issues as well as regional and global challenges, thus helping Vietnam to improve its position in the new situation./.
VNA
