[Vietnamization: Border] Vietnam, Cambodia step up cooperation in fight against drugs

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam (R) and his Cambodian counterpart Ke Kim Yan

Vietnam, Cambodia step up cooperation in fight against drugs

Vietnam and Cambodia have agreed to push ahead with cooperation in the fight against drugs by instructing authorized agencies and border localities to maintain the regular exchange of information and close coordination in investigating and cracking down drug trafficking rings.

Vietnam Net Bridge | 20 April 2017

The agreement was reached between Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Chairman of the National Steering Committee for Drug, AIDS and Prostitution Prevention and Control, and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Ke Kim Yan, Chairman of the National Authority for Combating Drugs, during their meeting in Hanoi on April 19.

Dam said the sharing of information and coordination between Vietnam and Cambodia are essential to improve the efficiency of drug prevention and combat in each country and contribute to addressing drug-related issues in the region.

He highlighted the growing relations between the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments thanks to the regular exchange of high-level visits. The current working visit to Vietnam by Deputy PM Ke Kim Yan is expected to further promote the bilateral traditional solidarity and friendship on the occasion of the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Dam affirmed that the Vietnamese Government has strengthened coordination with the international community and regional countries, especially those sharing the border lines, in drug prevention and combat.

For his part, Ke Kim Yan revealed that the drug smuggling and the use of drugs in Cambodia are still seeing complicated developments. Cambodia is not only a market but also an entrepot of drugs, he said.

In 2016, the Cambodian authorities detected over 4,000 drug trafficking cases, arresting 9,933 suspects and seizing 179 kg of drugs, he added.

He thanked Vietnamese competent agencies for their effective assistance to Cambodia in investigating and breaking cross-border drug rings.

The Deputy PM also called for Vietnam’s help to Cambodia to build a community-based voluntary drug detoxification centre.