Border provinces of Vietnam, Laos tighten control of migration

Quang Tri (VNA) – Officials of Quang Tri province and two Lao provinces of Savannakhet and Salavan have reached agreement on measures to curb spontaneous migration and undocumented marriages among residents living along the Vietnam-Laos border.

Delegates of the three border provinces met in Quang Tri’s Dong Ha city on December 19 to review the implementation of an agreement on handling the problems of free migration and undocumented marriages.

One of the measures is to promote educational campaigns to raise residents’ awareness about and compliance with the Vietnam-Laos agreement on land border and border gate management regulations, which was signed in 2016. Relevant forces will coordinate with village elders to disseminate information to each household.  

Relevant forces and local authorities of the three provinces will tighten the control of entry and exit by citizens in border areas, and expand the model of twinning relations between villages across the border.

Local authorities will also facilitate trade exchange and investment in border areas, thus improving the living conditions of local people.

The central province of Quang Tri shares more than 179km of border with Laos’ Savannakhet and Salavan. Statistics since 2013 showed 855 Lao and 493 Vietnamese migrated across the border or became partners in undocumented marriages.

 

So far Quang Tri has completed applications for Vietnamese citizenship for 756 Lao migrants, and the 734 of them have been granted citizenship./.