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Officials of Quang Tri province and two Lao provinces of Savannakhet and Salavan at the signing ceremony (Photo: VNA)

Delegates of the three border provinces met in Quang Tri’s Dong Ha city on December 19 to review the implementation of an agreement on handling the problems of free migration and undocumented marriages.

The two sides have both been actively working together to implement the 2013 Vietnam-Laos agreement in addressing free migration and undocumented marriages in their shared border areas while, at the same time, making many efforts in the enforcement of civil judgments under a bilateral treaty on mutual legal assistance signed in July 1998.

One of the measures is to promote educational campaigns to raise residents’ awareness about and compliance with the Vietnam-Laos agreement on land border and border gate management regulations, which was signed in 2016. Relevant forces will coordinate with village elders to disseminate information to each household.

Relevant forces and local authorities of the three provinces will tighten the control of entry and exit by citizens in border areas, and expand the model of twinning relations between villages across the border.

They also agreed to continue enhancing legal dissemination and education, raising people’s awareness of legal aids and reconciliation at a local level.

Local authorities will also facilitate trade exchange and investment in border areas, thus improving the living conditions of local people.

The central province of Quang Tri shares more than 179km of border with Laos’ Savannakhet and Salavan. Statistics since 2013 showed 855 Lao and 493 Vietnamese migrated across the border or became partners in undocumented marriages.

So far Quang Tri has completed applications for Vietnamese citizenship for 756 Lao migrants, and the 734 of them have been granted citizenship./.

VNA