Vietnamese Minister of Public Security General Luong Tam Quang and Russian Minister of Emergency Situations Aleksandr Kurenkov agreed to step up cooperation in emergency response, firefighting and disaster rescue between the two sides during their talks in Ha Noi on March 5.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a national teleconference on September 12 to look into fire prevention and control and the five-year implementation of a Government decree on rescue and the firefighting force.