Two senior officials of Vietnam and Russia have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation to improve the capability and efficiency of firefighting as well as search and rescue operations of the two countries.

Vietnamese Minister of Public Security (MPS) General To Lam and Russian Minister of Emergency Situations Sen. Lieut. Gen Kurenkov Aleksandr Vyacheslavovich reached the agreement during their talks in Hanoi on Thursday, as part of the latter’s visit to Vietnam, the Vietnam News Agency reported on the same day.

The cooperation between their two ministries have developed fruitfully over the past years, during which they have maintained exchanges of experience in emergency preparedness and response, while joining relevant exhibitions and scientific seminars, General Lam said.

The Russian side has also assisted the MPS in training firefighters as well as search and rescue forces, and shared with its Vietnamese partner experience in training methods and relevant scientific materials, the minister stated.

The general also affirmed that Vietnam highly appreciates the boosting of cooperation with Russia in firefighting and search and rescue operations, considering it a move to further promote the comprehensive ties between the two nations.

Minister Vyacheslavovich highly valued the results of cooperation with Vietnam in the aforementioned fields, saying it has contributed to consolidating their long-standing friendship.

He agreed with Lam that the two sides will transfer technologies in firefighting and search and rescue, introduce relevant equipment, share experience in establishing early warning centers for fire and natural disasters, and increase exchanges of all-level delegations.

Both pledged to set up a joint research group to coordinate and share information to help Vietnam perfect its legal system on firefighting and search and rescue operations.

They also reached a consensus that the Russian side will continue support Vietnam’s public security ministry in training officers.

The two ministries last year signed a memorandum of understanding on the exchange of experience in emergency preparedness and response.

After the talks, Minister Vyacheslavovich visited the fire prevention and fighting police division under Hanoi’s police department, where the Russian official highly appreciated the capacity and qualifications of the fire and rescue police forces in particular and the Vietnamese public security ministry in general, saying they are qualified to meet practical requirements, according to the People’s Police Television (ANTV).

He also toured a number of units under the MPS’s Security Industry Department.

The guest and host expressed their wishes to continue sharing and transferring information, experience, techniques, and technologies for manufacturing advanced firefighting and rescue equipment, ANTV reported.

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