China and Myanmar agreed on Saturday to promote cooperation in cracking down on transnational crimes and maintaining social stability in the border area of the two countries, according to a summary minutes of a four-day ministerial meeting.

The minutes was signed by Deputy Minister of Home Affairs of Myanmar Brigadier-General Phone Swe and Vice Minister of Public Security of China Zhao Yongji at the end of the first ministerial meeting on combating transnational crimes and maintaining public order in the border areas of China and Myanmar

According to the document, the two sides agreed to set up a coordinating mechanism for border police cooperation between the ministries of the two countries.

The two sides also agreed to step up their bilateral cooperation on drug control, especially in such fields as intelligence sharing, drug control law enforcement and alternative development and cooperate in the prevention and suppression of illegal entry and exit activities and take effective measures to improve the border port control and administration.

Besides, the two sides agreed to further their cooperation against money laundering and strengthen the control of arms, ammunition and explosives and prevention and suppression of crimes in the border regions such as gambling, trafficking in women and children, manufacturing and trafficking counterfeit currencies.

China and Myanmar will standardize and step up their exchange and cooperation in entry and exit control so as to keep the border tourism and trade in good order, according to the minutes.

First Secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council Lieutenant-General Thein Sein met with Zhao on Saturday afternoon, speaking highly of the two countries' cooperation in these fields.

The minutes set the second ministerial meeting on combating transnational crimes and maintaining public order in border areas of China and Myanmar to be held in 2007 in Beijing, China.

On March 25, 1997, China and Myanmar signed an agreement on border area administration and cooperation, and in January 2001, the two countries signed a MoU on strengthening cooperation in drug control.

Source: Xinhua