Colonel Vu Van Hung, Deputy Director of the Immigration Department at Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (right), and Michael Tomlinson, the UK’s Minister for Countering Illegal Migration, sign a Joint Statement of cooperation to reaffirm the two countries’ strong partnership. (Photo: Courtesy of the UK’s Home Office)
London (VNA) - Vietnam and the UK signed an agreement to increasecooperation on tackling illegal migration in London on April 17.
Colonel Vu Van Hung, Deputy Director of the Immigration Department at Vietnam’sMinistry of Public Security, and Michael Tomlinson, the UK’s Minister forCountering Illegal Migration, signed a Joint Statement of cooperation toreaffirm the two countries’ strong partnership.
Under the new agreement, the two countries committed to strengthencollaboration on deterrence communication campaigns to stop dangerous journeysin small boats. They will also increase intelligence-sharing to tackle visaabuse and continue to facilitate the process for the return of those with noright to remain in the UK.
The two sides will develop a Joint Action Plan in tackling human trafficking toprevent vulnerable people and disrupt people trafficking.
Vietnam and the UK will continue to maintain directand effective mechanisms and communication channels to share information, andpromote legal routes.
The Joint Statement follows a dialogue on April 15 between Vietnamese Minister ofPublic Security, General To Lam, and the UK’s Home Secretary James Cleverly whoagreed a strong set of measures to tackle visa abuse, increase intelligencesharing, deterrence messages, and continue a successful returns process forillegal migrants from the UK to their home country.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Hung said Vietnam and the UK share a strongstrategic partnership and are celebrating 51 years of diplomatic relations.Apart from collaborations in trade, education, research, technology innovationand climate change, tackling illegal migration and human trafficking is hugelyimportant and mutually beneficial to both countries. The two sides arecommitted to working together on ensuring safe and legal routes and protectingvictims of human trafficking.
Tomlinson said illegal migration is a global problem that requires globalsolutions. This agreement is an important step with a valued partner to ensureboth sides are working in lockstep to end exploitation by people-smugglinggangs, and to save lives.
He believed only through continued close cooperation with internationalpartners will the UK dismantle the criminal networks profiting from this eviltrade, and stop the boats.
In March, the UK’s Home Office launched a social media campaign in Vietnam tohighlight the risks of crossing the Channel in small boats./.
Deputy spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry Pham Thu Hang has affirmed Vietnam’s determination to fight illegal migration while responding to the report that seven of the 20 bodies found on the coast of Taiwan (China) carried Vietnamese personal papers and were victims of human trafficking.
The UN has identified human trafficking as one of the four most dangerous crimes included in the Global Crime Prevention Programme. Member States also adopted resolution A/RES/68/192 and designated July 30 as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons.
Vietnam recognises the more positive assessment made in the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US Department of State, Spokeswoman of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang told a regular press briefing on June 22.
The UK’s Home Office on March 25 launched a social media campaign in Vietnam to deter migrants from coming to the UK illegally, following successful similar drives in Albania, France and Belgium.
Party General Secretary To Lam met with members of the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea (VINK) and Vietnamese experts living and working in the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Seoul on August 10 as part of his state visit to the RoK.
In an interview with Korean media on the occasion of Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to the RoK, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed that the visit demonstrates Vietnam’s strong resolve to further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the RoK, with the aim of fostering greater political trust, closer strategic coordination, more substantive and comprehensive cooperation, and stronger bonds of friendship between the two countries' people.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is also a Politburo member and Secretary of the Government Party Committee, attended the 4th Party Congress of the EVN Party Organisation for the 2025–2030 tenure on August 10, directing EVN to ensure power supply to meet the country’s development demands with double-digit growth set for the coming years.
Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, along with a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived in Seongnam Air Base in Seoul on August 10 afternoon (local time), beginning a state visit to the Republic of Korea from August 10-13.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly departed from Hanoi on August 10 morning for a four-day state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK), which is made at an invitation of RoK President Lee Jae Myung.
As part of the ASEAN Day celebrations, the Vietnamese embassy will also host the ASEAN Family Day 2025 in Ottawa to foster solidarity and community spirit among ASEAN members in Canada.
State President Luong Cuong’s trip once again reaffirmed the Party and State’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations. It also reflected the strong trend of enhanced cooperation among countries of the Global South in shaping a new, more multipolar, fair and equitable world order.
The outcomes of Party General Secretary To Lam's visit will serve as a driving force and source of inspiration for the two countries to inherit, promote, and elevate their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, contributing to the national construction and development cause in each country, and to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 9 inspected the construction site of the new Phong Chau bridge, and surveyed a planned route for the Lao Cai – Hanoi – Hai Phong railway section running through the northern province of Phu Tho.
Across print, broadcast, and online platforms, Angolan media portrayed State President Luong Cuong's visit as a warm and historic occasion, strengthening bilateral ties and boosting Vietnam’s presence in Africa through the AU.
The 500kV Lao Cai – Vinh Yen power transmission line has a total investment of over 7.41 trillion VND (282.5 million USD), and a total length of 229.5 km, passing through 31 communes in the two provinces, and comprising 468 transmission tower foundations.
The visits reflected the elevated position of Vietnam’s foreign policy in the new era—aimed at not only advancing ties with key regional partners like Egypt and Angola but also delivering a strategic message about Vietnam’s commitment to deepening relations with African nations as a whole.
At their talks and meetings, President Cuong and Angola’s top leaders affirmed that the close brotherhood and traditional friendship are a valuable shared asset and a solid foundation for the two nations to advance into a new phase of development.
The ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) attaches great importance to the friendship, solidarity, and comradeship with the Communist Party of Vietnam, and voiced her Party’s wish to further deepen and expand relations between the two sides for the benefit of the Vietnamese and Angolan people.
Vietnam pledges to do its utmost to build an ASEAN of solidarity, consensus, and unity in diversity, and to foster a fast and sustainable development path for ASEAN, grounded in science, technology, and innovation, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
Party General Secretary To Lam called on the criminal police force to accelerate the application of science, technology, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation in criminal investigation tasks such as crime prevention, detection, tracking and verification, ensuring that no area remains out of their reach.
Many Koreans living, studying, and working in Hanoi see the upcoming state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) by Party General Secretary To Lam as an opportunity to generate strong synergy in economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and cultural understanding.
The achievements of the five decades of Vietnam–Angola cooperation provide a strong and enduring foundation, as well as momentum for the two sides to consolidate, expand, and bring their partnership into a new phase of development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that the emulation and commendation work is a vital driver, fostering patriotism, dedication, and collective momentum in the run-up to the 11th National Patriotic Emulation Congress, Party congresses at all levels, and the 14th National Party Congress.
Emphasising the need for sustainable, long-term collaboration, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man called on Japanese investors not only to bring in capital but also to share expertise and modern technology, especially in areas such as green transformation, the circular economy, and advanced corporate governance.
Colonel Vu Van Hung, Deputy Director of the Immigration Department at Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (right), and Michael Tomlinson, the UK’s Minister for Countering Illegal Migration, sign a Joint Statement of cooperation to reaffirm the two countries’ strong partnership. (Photo: Courtesy of the UK’s Home Office) 
