Provincial police from Mondulkiri, and Dak Lak in Vietnam made a commitment on Sunday to strengthen their cooperation to intercept and prevent border crimes in order to secure peace for residents on both sides.

The pledge was made at the annual meeting of a joint collaboration between the neighbouring provinces, held at Mondulkiri’s provincial police headquarters.

Mondulkiri provincial police chief Lao Sokha told The Post on Monday: “Our countries are neighbours. Mondulkiri and Dak Lak provinces share a border, so we need to communicate and cooperate with one another in order to prevent crime along the borderline.

“If our countries’ border has no crime, people of both countries will live in peace and progress.”

Lao Sokha said that early this year, Dak Lak provincial police helped build the two-storey Mondulkiri provincial police headquarters, which cost approximately $160,000. The building was inaugurated officially on Sunday afternoon after the meeting was over.

Sokha said this year, provincial police from both countries have jointly patrolled the border four times.

They have successfully dealt with many crimes, he said, such as illegal use of forest land, the setting of animal traps and illegal crossing of the border to sell crops or visit relatives.