The signing was made by MPS General Police Department Director General Tran Van Thao and DEA Regional Director Andre W. Kellum in the presence of US Ambassador to Vietnam Michael W. Marine and representatives from Vietnam MPS drug enforcement agencies.

The MOU is aimed at improving information sharing and coordinated operations between DEA and MPS, as well as strengthening and consolidating cooperative efforts to combat the transnational drug trafficking and money laundering organisations that threaten both Vietnam and the US.

The MOU results in part from the initiative first endorsed at the June 2005 meeting between MPS Vice Minister Nguyen Van Huong and DEA Deputy Administrator Mechele Leonhart at DEA headquarters in Washington, DC. It also reflects the determination of DEA to seek every opportunity to strengthen drug law enforcement in Vietnam.