Vietnam, UK promote cooperation in combating illegal migration

On March 30, Deputy Minister Pham The Tung and Minister of State at the UK Home Office Simon Ridley co-chaired the 4th Vietnam–UK Migration Dialogue.

Speaking at the dialogue, Deputy Minister Pham The Tung noted that, in recent years, leaders of the two ministries have maintained regular high-level exchanges to share experience and strengthen cooperation in combating transnational crime, including crimes related to immigration, illegal migration and human trafficking.

He emphasized that the positive results of the bilateral cooperation have made an important contribution to promoting the overall Vietnam–UK partnership, as well as relations between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the UK Home Office.

According to the Deputy Minister, the dialogue serves as a key cooperation mechanism, enabling both sides to review the situation, exchange orientations and discuss issues of mutual concern, thereby enhancing mutual understanding, strengthening trust and reaffirming the two countries’ agreement on promoting safe and legal migration while intensifying efforts to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.

From the UK side, Minister of State Simon Ridley highly appreciated the practical positive cooperation results achieved by the two sides in recent years, saying that combating illegal migration and human trafficking remains a priority area of the bilateral cooperation bringing mutual benefits to both countries.

At the dialogue, the two sides held comprehensive and constructive discussions on priority areas, including repatriation, combating illegal migration and human trafficking and strategic communication to raise the public awareness of preventing these kinds of crime.

The two officials also reviewed the implementation of the bilateral cooperation plan on migration-related issues and discussed orientations for developing safe and legal migration approaches.

Within the framework of his visit to the UK, on March 31, Deputy Minister Pham The Tung participated in a trilateral working session among the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam, the French Ministry of the Interior and the UK Home Office to exchange views on their cooperation mechanisms and information sharing in combating illegal migration.

On the same day, the Deputy Minister held a working session with the UK National Crime Agency to discuss coordination in investigating individuals and criminal networks involved in organizing illegal migration and human trafficking.