Vietnam, India promote law enforcement cooperation

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and India have agreed to strengthen cooperation between their law enforcement agencies, focusing on counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, transnational crime prevention, UN peacekeeping and emerging technologies.

The agreement was reached at talks between Minister of Public Security General Luong Tam Quang and National Security Advisor (NSA) of India Ajit Doval in Hanoi on November 2.

Quang highlighted the positive development of Vietnam-India relations over the past 54 years, underpinned by strong political trust and shared strategic interests.

He described the upgrade of bilateral ties to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam's state visit to India in May 2026 as an important milestone, saying that this reflects the shared strategic vision and determination to elevate bilateral relations to a new level.

Congratulating India on successfully hosting the BRICS Summit in September 2026, Quang appreciated its growing role in promoting multilateral cooperation and noted Vietnam's participation as a co-sponsor of the pillar “Capacity Building and Resource Sharing” under India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.

He stressed that security and law enforcement cooperation was an important pillar of bilateral ties, helping maintain a favourable environment for development in both countries.

The minister affirmed that the successful organisation of the 19th session of the Vietnam – India Joint Commission Meeting in New Delhi in September 2026 helped translate high-level agreements and commitments into concrete cooperation activities in practice.

Doval, for his part, praised the practical cooperation between Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security and India’s National Security Council, expressing hope that the talks will help sustain effective cooperation for the benefit of both countries and peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.

The two sides agreed to organise activities marking the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations, increase delegation exchanges and continue supporting each other's positions at multilateral forums and mechanisms, and regional and global security initiatives, and in addressing non-traditional security challenges in line with international law and the UN Charter.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security called on India’s National Security Council to continue urging Indian law enforcement agencies to negotiate and sign cooperation documents with the ministry, including a draft memorandum of understanding on cooperation in personnel training and capacity building and a draft agreement on cooperation in combating transnational crime between the Vietnamese ministry and the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs.

It also proposed exploring the possibility of negotiating and signing an agreement on the mutual protection and exchange of classified information between the two governments, and another on combating human trafficking, particularly trafficking in women and children.

The Vietnamese ministry proposed strengthening exchanges and sharing experience in participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations, as well as support in training and capacity-building for peacekeeping police officers. It also called on the Indian side to share knowledge and experience in operating the ministry’s UN peacekeeping training centre.

As Vietnam prepares to host the 2027 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting (APEC 2027), Quang proposed stronger information sharing on security arrangements for the event.

He took the occasion to invite Doval to attend an international conference on combating transnational crime, to be jointly organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and INTERPOL in Hanoi in July 2027./.

VNA