Minister for Public Security, General Lương Tam Quang and the UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper sign a joint action plan on reducing the risks of human trafficking on March 31. — VNA/VNS Photo

LONDON — The United Kingdom and Việt Nam on Monday signed a joint action plan on reducing the risks of human trafficking by discouraging dangerous journeys, disrupting trafficking gangs and supporting victims in rebuilding their lives.

The agreement was signed at the Organised Immigration Summit in London by the UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Việt Nam’s Minister for Public Security, General Lương Tam Quang during the latter's trip to the UK.

The agreement commits both countries to preventing traffickers from exploiting vulnerable people by discouraging dangerous journeys, enhancing information sharing and coordinating efforts to disrupt trafficking. It builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries in 2018.

In 2024, over 3,000 Vietnamese nationals made the perilous journey from France in small, often overcrowded boats with insufficient safety equipment. Those who make it face a high risk of exploitation by criminal gangs, as well as increasingly insurmountable debts to their criminal facilitators.

Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary, said: “Human trafficking is a barbaric crime that exploits and dehumanises its victims. This government is using every lever to identify victims, safeguard survivors, and punish their abusers.

“Working closely with international partners is vital, and this plan allows us to go after criminals both in the UK and Vietnam who are profiteering from people’s desperation. Together with the Vietnamese Government, we can shut down these vile trafficking gangs and prevent more people from becoming their victims,” she said.

The delivery of the Joint Action Plan is supporting further projects in Việt Nam funded by the UK Home Office, including up to £1million (VND 33 billion) of funding over the course of 2025 through the Home Office Modern Slavery Fund.

Since 2018, the UK has invested over £7million to strengthen Việt Nam’s anti-trafficking response through the Modern Slavery Fund. This has helped identify and support victims of trafficking and migrants in vulnerable situations, reached over seven million people with awareness campaigns, and educated 1,936 aspiring migrants about the risks of human trafficking. — VNS