PHNOM PENH: Cambodia and fellow Asean member states have agreed in principle on a joint action plan to strengthen cooperation against fugitives from justice. Following a high-level law enforcement conference in Hanoi, the attendees adopted a joint statement.
The Asean High-Level Law Enforcement Conference on Cooperation in Combating Fugitives was hosted by Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security and brought together delegations from all 11 Asean member states and representatives of the Asean Secretariat.
Minister of Interior Sar Sokha attended the conference during a September 29 to October 1 visit to Vietnam.
Discussions focused on national strategies and experience in tackling crime and fugitives, alongside other law enforcement challenges which require closer coordination among the countries of the region.
“The conference exchanged views on the efforts and national strategies of each Asean member state in combating crime and fugitives, and discussed the challenges facing member states to address them jointly more effectively and promptly,” noted an interior ministry statement.
The joint action plan and statement are intended to provide a basis for strengthening cooperation in pursuing fugitives.
The ministry said the cooperation aimed to build a crime-free ASEAN region characterised by security, safety and resilience.
Vietnamese Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang delivered the conference’s opening remarks, while Asean secretary-general Kao Kim Hourn addressed participants through a video message.
During the visit, Sokha and other Asean delegation heads also paid a courtesy call on Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.
According to the release, Hung thanked the delegations for attending and praised cooperation between Vietnam and Asean in preventing and combating transnational crime and addressing fugitives.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation heads, Sokha thanked the prime minister and Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security for organising the conference.
The ministry also reported that, during meetings with Sokha, Brunei’s minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Timor-Leste’s interior minister thanked Cambodia for the welcome extended to their delegations during an earlier visit.
Both officials congratulated Cambodia on the outcomes of last month’s international conference on combating technology-related fraud, particularly the adoption of the Phnom Penh Declaration. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
