(VOVworld) - The 13^th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC 13) opened in the central city of Danang on Wednesday with the participation of ten ASEAN member countries, their partners and the ASEAN Secretariat.

ASEAN officials will discuss ways to prevent crime in the bloc’s member countries and promote ASEAN cooperation in fighting transitional crime by sharing experiences, information and data bases, improving the capacity of law enforcement officials, and helping each other in fighting hi-tech crime, corruption and money laundering. They will also review the results of ASEAN cooperation in this field and agree upon prioritized areas for anti-crime measures in member countries. Phan Van Vinh, Head of the General Department of Anti-Crime Police under the Ministry of Public Security, said: “The full presence of ASEAN member countries and their dialogue partners today proves that cooperation in transnational crime prevention has been high on the list of ASEAN governments’ concerns. We will try to provide the best possible conditions for participating delegates to strengthen mutual understanding and co-development”.

This is second time Vietnam hosts ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime.