Vietnam, Italy beef up law enforcement cooperation

Hanoi (VNA) - Minister of Public Security To Lam highlighted increasingly strengthened cooperation between the ministry and Italian law enforcement agencies in security and crime prevention while hosting new Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Marco Della Seta in Hanoi on October 16.

In July, the two sides signed the extradition agreement and an agreement on the transfer of convicted persons. The Vietnamese ministry has sent many officials to participate in training courses organised by Italy and attend peacekeeping training courses sponsored by the Italian government.

To further promote the bilateral collaboration in the future, Lam suggested both sides continue to support and assist each other at multilateral forums and international organisations in which they participate, especially concerning non-traditional security threats and cybersecurity.

They should increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, share operational experience and information, collaborate on investigations in various areas of crime prevention, and effectively implement their signed cooperation agreements, he noted.

He recommended the sides work towards signing a letter of intent to establish a joint committee to promote cooperation in crime prevention between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the Italian Ministry of the Interior and an agreement on mutual protection and exchange of classified information. Furthermore, they should explore the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding on information exchange concerning immigration and border control to improve their legal framework for bilateral cooperation.

The minister proposed Italy continue to support the ministry in personnel training and capacity building, and promote technology transfer for Vietnam’s law enforcement agencies.

For his part, the ambassador affirmed that in his capacity, he will make every effort to nurture the development of a strong and cooperative relationship between the nations. He said he supports and will act as a bridge to expand even more effective cooperation between the ministry and Italian law enforcement agencies to ensure national security and prosperity of each country./.