Minister Ananda Wijepala warmly welcomed Minister Luong Tam Quang and the high-level delegation of Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security on their visit and working session with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs. He expressed confidence that the meeting between the two ministers would provide a valuable opportunity for both sides to directly discuss issues of mutual concern and identify activities to concretize the commitments made by the senior leaders of the two countries.
Minister Luong Tam Quang sincerely thanked Minister Ananda Wijepala for the warm reception accorded to the Vietnamese delegation. He emphasized that the state visit to Sri Lanka by General Secretary and State President To Lam marked the first-ever visit to Sri Lanka by a Vietnamese General Secretary and State President. The visit reflects Vietnam’s high regard for the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Sri Lanka and represents a historic milestone as the two countries officially upgraded their ties to a “Comprehensive Partnership,” creating a breakthrough and establishing a new framework for bilateral relations.
During the talks, the two ministers noted that the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions continue to serve as dynamic centers of development. However, traditional and non-traditional security challenges are becoming increasingly complex, directly threatening the national security of both Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
The situation requires law enforcement agencies of the two countries to strengthen cooperation, considering it an important pillar of Vietnam–Sri Lanka relations. In recent years, the two sides have maintained cooperation in information sharing, law enforcement experience exchange, coordination in combating terrorism and transnational crime, and sharing experience in participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations. The “Memorandum of Understanding on the Exchange of Scientific Research Experience” signed on this occasion between the People’s Police Academy of Vietnam and the National Police Academy of Sri Lanka is expected to open up new opportunities for cooperation between the two ministries in enhancing law enforcement capacity.
To deepen relations between Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs and achieve concrete results in the coming period, both sides agreed to increase annual exchanges of high-level and expert delegations to establish cooperation in areas of mutual interest. They also agreed to expand cooperation in combating transnational crime related to both countries, particularly in the fields of cybersecurity and high-tech crime prevention, while sharing experience in responding to traditional and non-traditional security challenges.
The two sides will actively explore cooperation in digital transformation and the application of artificial intelligence to security and social order management. They will also exchange experience in deploying officers to participate in UN peacekeeping police forces, closely coordinate to ensure absolute security and safety for high-level visits and diplomatic missions in each country, and create favorable conditions for citizens of each country to live, study, work, and travel in the other country.
