General To Lam, Minister of Public Security, receives new Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam Hilde Solbakken. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - General To Lam, Minister of Public Security, on November 14 hosted a reception in Hanoi for new Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam Hilde Solbakken.
The minister emphasised that the bilateral friendship between Vietnam and Norway has developed well. Despite difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries still maintained online consultations, and two-way trade turnover increased slightly compared to 2019, reaching over 500 million USD.
To promote bilateral cooperation in general and that between the Ministry of Public Security and Norwegian partners in particular, Lam suggested that in the coming time, the two sides continue to strengthen coordination at multilateral forums and the United Nations, as well as enhance collaboration in the fields of education, tourism, sports, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.
They should facilitate the cooperation between the Vietnamese ministry and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the police of Norway in building a mechanism for exchanging information on and the situation of transnational crimes related to the two countries, negotiate and sign cooperation documents on crime prevention and combat, extradition and transfer of people sentenced to prison, he said. The organisation of workshops to share experiences on crime prevention, especially those relating to human trafficking and child abuse, should be promoted, Lam added.
The minister affirmed that his ministry will actively support the ambassador to fulfill her duties, thereby promoting the friendship between Vietnam and Norway.
For her part, Solbakken said that she will strive to push up the Vietnam-Norway bilateral relationship in general and between Norwegian law enforcement agencies and the ministry in particular./.
