The southern province of Tay Ninh and three Cambodian provinces signed an agreement on February 18 to enhance border marker planting and cross-border crime prevention.

Under the agreement, Tay Ninh and Cambodia ’s Kompongcham, Prayveng, and Svairieng provinces will this year continue to maintain security in their shared border areas and intensify their fight against armed crime, illegal immigration and trafficking of weapons and drugs.

The two sides have also pledged to continue their collaboration setting up border markers, at the same time raising awareness of legal issues to residents in common border areas in order to facilitate trade between them.

According to Vice Chairman of the Tay Ninh provincial People’s Committee Tran Luu Quang, the areas adjoining Cambodian localities have seen positive socio-economic and cultural development.

Living standards of local people have gradually improved while defence security and crime fighting activities have been reinforced, creating an environment of peace, friendship, stability, and cooperation for mutual development.

Both sides have mapped 97 out of 109 markers and over half of their 240km shared border line has been delimited.

In 2013, the two sides’ armed forces worked together to tackle cases of robbery, human trafficking and drug smuggling, seized 21kilograms of amphetamine and 1.1 kilograms of heroin.-VNA