Vietnam, Laos to sign confidential information exchange agreement

An agreement on Mutual Confidential Information Exchange between the governments of Vietnam and Laos is expected to be inked in the coming time.

Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam and Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security General Vilay Lakhamphong at a meeting in Hanoi on Oct 25 to sign the two ministries' cooperation for 2023. Photo: Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security

The news was shared during the ongoing visit to Vietnam paid by Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security General Vilay Lakhamphong.

A non-disclosure agreement would be on the working agenda of the two public security ministries as requested by Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam at the meeting with Vilay Lakhamphong in Hanoi on October 25.

The agreement was included in the issues for cooperation in 2023 signed between the two ministries during the visit.

In addition, the two sides will negotiate and sign an agreement on extradition next year.

Other issues of the meetings between Vilay Lakhamphong and To Lam, and Vilay Lakhamphong and Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh are effective implementations of agreements on border management signed by the two governments to ensure the Vietnam-Lao border of “peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.”

Accordingly, the two sides agreed to exchange regional information of mutual concerns, including that related to the countries’ security, namely terrorism, drug crime, wanted criminals, illegal entry and migration, and non-traditional security threats, while cooperating in organizing anti-terrorism drills.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Chinh asked the two ministries, especially border-sharing localities, to strengthen cooperation and exchange experiences to fight against hostile forces and all kinds of crimes, especially drug trafficking, transnational crimes, and high-tech and environmental crimes.

Chinh also requested Vietnam and Laos to cooperate on multilateral issues, mainly those in ASEAN and the United Nations, contributing to the joint efforts towards a drug-free region and supporting ASEAN’s stance on the South China Sea issues.

The key message in the meetings shows that it is necessary to strengthen security cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in the context of fluctuations, difficulties, and challenges.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security General Vilay Lakhamphong in Hanoi on Oct 25. Photo: VGP

Joint efforts against drug trafficking

Today [October 26], a minister-level meeting was held in Hanoi to discuss measures against drug trafficking. 

The event, which marked the participation of high-ranking officers of both countries, stressed the need for close cooperation amid rising transnational crimes as both Vietnam and Laos are under the influence of the Golden Triangle (Myanmar – Laos – Thailand), the center of a thriving opium economy and a crucial source of narcotics for the world. 

After a year of implementing a memorandum of understanding on drug trafficking prevention and control (signed in August 2021), Vietnamese police solved 5,338 cases involving 7,397 offenders, seizing 292 kg of heroin, 2.7 kg of opium, 1.54 tons and 1.62 million synthetic drug pills. The police also arrested 16 wanted persons in Laos in joint investigations. 

For plans, the two sides agreed to cooperate in disseminating drug prevention among border communities while conducting a joint crack-down on drug trafficking. 

Cross-border drug trafficking between Vietnam and Laos has remained a thorny issue. In the book “Drug Trafficking in the Mainland Southeast Asian Region: The Example of Vietnam’s Shared Borderland with Laos” by Hai Thanh Luong, the author describes transit routes in Vietnam for drug trafficking networks in recent years in the Southeast Asia region and beyond have expanded considerably. The crossings through the Vietnam–Laos borderland of about 2,340 km are the most severe concerns among these routes.