Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Cambodiahave agreed to push ahead with cooperation in the fight against drugs byinstructing authorized agencies and border localities to maintain the regularexchange of information and close coordination in investigating and crackingdown drug trafficking rings.
The agreement was reached between Deputy PrimeMinister Vu Duc Dam, Chairman of the National Steering Committee for Drug, AIDSand Prostitution Prevention and Control, and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister KeKim Yan, Chairman of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, during theirmeeting in Hanoi on April 19.
Dam said the sharing of information andcoordination between Vietnam and Cambodia are essential to improve theefficiency of drug prevention and combat in each country and contribute toaddressing drug-related issues in the region.
He highlighted the growing relations between theVietnamese and Cambodian governments thanks to the regular exchange of high-levelvisits. The current working visit to Vietnam by Deputy PM Ke Kim Yan isexpected to further promote the bilateral traditional solidarity and friendshipon the occasion of the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties.
Dam affirmed that the Vietnamese Government hasstrengthened coordination with the international community and regionalcountries, especially those sharing the border lines, in drug prevention andcombat.
For his part, Ke Kim Yan revealedthat the drug smuggling and the use of drugs in Cambodia are still seeingcomplicated developments. Cambodia is not only a market but also an entrepot ofdrugs, he said.
In 2016, the Cambodian authorities detectedover 4,000 drug trafficking cases, arresting 9,933 suspects and seizing 179 kgof drugs, he added.
He thanked Vietnamese competent agencies fortheir effective assistance to Cambodia in investigating and breaking cross-borderdrug rings.
The Deputy PM also called forVietnam’s help to Cambodia to build a community-based voluntary drugdetoxification centre.-VNA