Ensuring political security and social order have been declared key tasks of the Steering Committee for the Southwest Region through the end of this year, according to Nguyen Doan Ket, Head of the committee’s Defence and Security Department.

Along with communicating on socio-economic and poverty reduction policies, the committee will collaborate with regional localities to popularise Party and State policies on ethnics and religion, alerting locals of destructive schemes by hostility forces, he said.

At the same time, the committee will work against those who take advantage of ethnic and religious issues to harm the country’s solidarity bloc.

Combating smuggling and drug trafficking crimes, especially in border areas, will be intensified, said Ket.

The committee will also work with localities to ensure safety at big events and festivals, including the Mekong Delta Green Tourism Week in Can Tho city.

Meanwhile, the committee will educate local fishermen on sea-related laws in Vietnam and regional countries, while expanding external relations and international security-defence collaboration and speeding up demarcation along the land border, added Ket.-VNA