Various measures have been taken to protect and support Vietnamese citizens facing difficulties in Cambodia, Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said at a press conference on July 7 while answering reporters’ questions regarding the situation of Vietnamese workers being forced to work in the neighbouring country.
Hang said that solutions have been implemented with collaboration between Vietnamese representative agencies in Cambodia and authorised agencies and localities at home, especially localities along the shared border with Cambodia.
She said that specialised working teams have been set up to respond to citizens’ requests, post warnings on websites and social network accounts of Vietnamese representative agencies in Cambodia, and work with Cambodia n agencies to support Vietnamese victims .
The Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia has set up a citizen protection hotline, along with a hotline of the Consular Department to receive reports on victims and other information, while coordinating with authorised agencies at home, especially media agencies, to provide information and raise public awareness of the issue.
Thanks to the efforts of domestic agencies, and with coordination from the Cambodian side, to date, about 400 citizens have been brought home, while guidance and legal support have been supplied to about 1,500 workers meeting difficulties in exiting, traveling and extending their residence or violating the host country's laws, the spokeswoman stated.
Hang said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad will continue to coordinate with domestic and Cambodian authorities to step up investigations and roll out necessary citizen protection measures./.