Deputy Minister Le Van Tuyen works with Italian Ministry of the Interior

At the meeting, the two sides noted that since the establishment of the Strategic Partnership in January 2013, bilateral cooperation has been actively and comprehensively promoted across multiple fields, including politics, diplomacy, economy, science, education, defense-security, environmental protection and local-level connection.

Regarding specialized cooperation, both sides affirmed that security and law enforcement cooperation constitutes a key pillar of the Vietnam-Italy Strategic Partnership. 

Over the past time, the two countries have regularly exchanged delegations at all levels, organized training programs and professional exchanges and shared experience in combating crime, particularly transnational crime, terrorism, high-tech crime and drug-related crime.

The Italian Ministry of the Interior has also provided equipment to support capacity building of Vietnamese police peacekeepers. 

Notably, the two sides signed a Letter of Intent on cooperation in April 2025, aimed at establishing a Joint Committee to enhance cooperation in crime prevention and control.

To further strengthen cooperation, Deputy Minister Le Van Tuyen and Annunziato Varde agreed to maintain regular exchanges of delegations, enhance coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums and international organizations and expand cooperation in areas such as non-traditional security, cybersecurity and international counter-terrorism.

The two sides also agreed to effectively utilize bilateral and multilateral cooperation channels, including INTERPOL, to exchange information, share experience in combating transnational crime and coordinate in investigating cases involving citizens of each country, as well as in arresting and repatriating wanted fugitives in accordance with each country’s laws and international law.

In terms of legal cooperation, the two sides agreed to expedite procedures for signing the document on the establishment of a joint committee on crime prevention and control cooperation in 2026, while accelerating internal processes to ratify the Extradition Agreement and the Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, thereby creating a solid legal foundation for bilateral criminal justice cooperation.

Regarding training and capacity building, the two sides agreed to organize more specialized training programs, joint exercises, expert exchanges and thematic workshops, while providing support of equipment to enhance the effectiveness of crime prevention and control, the participation of police officers in UN peacekeeping operations and detention management in a modern and human right-ensured manner.

Annunziato Varde affirmed that the Italian Ministry of the Interior advocated international cooperation initiatives of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, pledging to deliver the Italian leadership the Vietnamese side’s invitation to an international conference on combating transnational crime to be hosted by Vietnam in 2027.

The Italian side also committed to facilitating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community living and working legally in Italy, contributing to strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.