Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Long receives Under-Secretary at UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Vietnam Iain Frew also joined the event.

Welcoming Mr. Philip Barton and the UK delegation to the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Long stated that the two countries had expanded bilateral cooperation in in the fields of politics, diplomacy, economics, defense, security, science and technology, culture, education, through delegation exchange, high-level contacts and other mechanisms within the framework of the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership while closely coordinating and supporting each other at multilateral forums.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Long emphasized that the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam highly appreciated the results of recent cooperation with UK security and law enforcement agencies, saying that the two sides had increased specific cooperation activities such as exchanging information related to the situation of economic crime, drug crime, illegal migration, international terrorism, and transnational crimes as well as rendering support for economic cooperation and investment activities related to the two countries.

The two sides also exchanged work experience and joined efforts in organizing training courses to improve the qualifications of Vietnamese police officers responsible for cyber crime and crime with the use of high technology, illegal migration, money laundering and forensics.

To continue to strengthen the bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the coming time, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Long proposed that the two sides increase exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level ones, to further deepen the political relationship while supporting each other in the international arena, maintaining channels for information exchange and consultation on issues of mutual concern.

The host also hoped that the two sides will early negotiate an extradition agreement to create a favorable legal framework for bilateral cooperation in crime prevention and combat, strengthen coordination in preventing and combating terrorism, team up to handle transnational crime and crime involving citizens of the two countries, and deny organizations or individuals to take advantage of one country's territory to carry out acts of sabotage against the other, and coordinate with each other in safeguarding bilateral investment, trade activities as well as citizens of one country living, studying and working legally in the other.

Sincerely thanking Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Long for the meeting, Mr. Philip Barton believed that in the coming years, the bilateral cooperation and relationship between the UK and Vietnam will develop positively to new heights in the coming time.