The signing ceremony drew representatives from Son La province and its Lao border localities of Houaphan, Luang Prabang, Luang Namtha, Bokeo, and Oudomxai. 

The MoU is aimed at improving the provinces’ coordination in the fight against drugs along the shared border, with the target of eleminating drug trafficking rings and networks in the localities.

Under the SH09 project, Vietnamese and Lao forces detected 1,894 cases
From 2009 to 2015, the SH09 project on cross-border drug prevention and combat between Son La and the Lao border provinces showed positive results. 

Under the project, Vietnamese and Lao forces detected 1,894 cases involving 2,789 individuals, collecting over 351 kilogrammes of heroin, 72.7 kilogrammes of opium and 302,000 pills of methamphetamine.