Vietnam convenes ASEAN summit on cross-border criminal fugitive cooperation

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung received heads of delegations from ASEAN member states and representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat on September 30 at a reception in Hanoi marking the opening of the ASEAN Law Enforcement High-level Conference on Cooperation in Combating Criminal Fugitives.

The gathering represents a significant effort by the Southeast Asian bloc to coordinate law enforcement responses to transnational crime, particularly the movement and apprehension of wanted individuals across national borders. The conference provides a platform for regional police and security officials to exchange intelligence, discuss best practices, and establish protocols for pursuing suspects who flee across ASEAN boundaries.

Vietnam's hosting of the conference underscores the country's commitment to regional security cooperation and its role as chair of various ASEAN initiatives. The meeting brings together enforcement agencies from the region to address growing challenges posed by criminal networks operating across multiple jurisdictions and exploit gaps in bilateral coordination.

The high-level summit is expected to produce concrete agreements on information sharing, extradition procedures, and joint investigation mechanisms to strengthen ASEAN's capacity to combat serious transnational crime. Officials indicated the discussions would focus on modernizing law enforcement cooperation frameworks to address evolving criminal activities in the digital age.