Minister Luong Tam Quang attends inauguration ceremony of Drug Rehabilitation Center in Laos

Lao Member of the Politburo, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security General Vilay Lakhamphong chaired the ceremony.

The event also saw the presence of Ambassador of Vietnam to Laos Nguyen Minh Tam, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Long and Lao Deputy Ministers of Public Security.

The project, jointly implemented by the two Ministries of Public Security, aims to support the successful implementation of the Lao Government’s national program on drug prevention and control.

It also contributes to enhancing the effectiveness of cooperation between the two ministries in combating drug-related crimes and managing drug addicts.

After 12 months of construction, thanks to the sound leadership of the two ministries and the dedicated efforts of the involved units and agencies, the project has basically completed the planned workload.

Speaking at the ceremony, Minister Luong Tam Quang stated that, with the consent of the Governments of Vietnam and Laos, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Drug Rehabilitation Center officially took place on July 12, 2024.

Besides the construction of the center, the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam, in coordination with the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, also organized a training course on drug rehabilitation for Lao officials.

Minister Luong Tam Quang expressed hope that the newly-built drug rehabilitation center would help Laos gradually reduce the number of drug addicts, provide stable employment for rehabilitated individuals and become a model drug rehabilitation facility in the country.

On behalf of the two ministries, Minister Luong Tam Quang commended officials from both sides for their great effort to overcome numerous challenges and work hard from the early days of the project through to the completion.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Public Security Forces will continue to stand side by side with their Lao counterparts in all areas of cooperation, particularly in the fight against drug-related crimes, stressing that Vietnam is ready to share experience in drug rehabilitation and ex-addicts management, contributing to bringing peace and happiness to the peoples of both countries.

At the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security of Laos Vilay Lakhamphong, expressed his belief that the center would become a vivid symbol of the Lao-Vietnamese friendship and serve as a model of rehabilitation of drug addicts in Laos.