Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Justice Tran Tien Dung (L) and Australian Deputy Secretary of Justice Tara Inverarity exchange the Letter of Intent. — VNA/VNS Photo

Canberra — Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Justice Trần Tiến Dũng and Australian Deputy Secretary of Justice Tara Inverarity held talks in Canberra on March 7.

Both sides expressed their joy at witnessing the issuance of the Joint Statement on the elevation of Vietnam-Australia relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership by the two countries' Prime Ministers, which features deeper cooperation in political, national defence-security, and legal and judicial matters of shared concern.

Inverarity spoke highly of the fruitful coordination in legal and judicial fields since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Australian Department of Justice in 2012, focusing on criminal justice and international legal issues.

She thanked the MoJ for close collaboration during the negotiation process of the draft Letter of Intent on cooperation, which has been signed during this important visit.

Dung put forth suggestions for future endeavors, emphasising the necessity of effective implementation of the Letter of Intent. He suggested that Australia assist the MoJ in training officials and experts, especially lawyers and legal experts capable of handling international legal issues related to Vietnam; and closely cooperate with the Vietnamese side in civil legal assistance and the effective enforcement of the Hague Conference Conventions on Private International Law, of which both sides are members.As the talks concluded, both sides agreed to prioritise the effective implementation of the agreed-upon contents in the new Letter of Intent, including policies on organised and transnational crimes, especially money laundering and terrorism financing, corruption, drug and human trafficking; legal document and evidence collection abroad in civil and commercial matters; alternative dispute resolution methods, including international arbitration and commercial mediation.

They also committed to collaborating in issues related to digital transformation, green and circular economy, artificial intelligence ; and training a team of legal experts to serve global integration. — VNA/VNS