Vietnamese Minister of Public Security Gen. Tô Lâm receives Cuban Minister of the Interior Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas in Hà Nội on Monday. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese Minister of Public Security Gen. Tô Lâm held talks with Cuban Minister of the Interior Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas in Hà Nội on Monday after chairing an official welcoming ceremony for the latter.

Lâm emphasised the significance of the Cuban ministry’s first ministerial visit since 2010, which would contribute to the relationship between the two countries in general and the two ministries in particular. He also expressed his delight at the sound and effective development of the Việt Nam-Cuba traditional friendship based on mutual trust, understanding, and respect.

After the COVID-19 pandemic was brought under control, between mid-2022 and now, the ministries’ cooperation resumed quickly in the fields of delegation exchange, security, technical logistics and medical care, said the Vietnamese minister.

Given that criminal activities, especially transnational, high-tech and other types of non-traditional crimes, were increasingly sophisticated and difficult to deal with, the expansion and strengthening of the cooperation had become more urgent for the interests and national security of each country, he noted.

The ministries agreed to enhance exchange of experience and equipment as well as capacity building for security officers, especially in protection techniques such as detection and prevention of terrorist plots. They said they would deploy collaboration in research and production of drugs, vaccines, biological products, including those that have been successfully researched and put into treatment for patients in Cuba.

Minister Lâm affirmed that the Vietnamese ministry would give the highest support and be willing to exchange experience and consult with the Cuban Ministry of the Interior on policies serving the construction and protection of the fatherland. — VNS