Prime Minister Hun Manet and his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra inspect an honour guard on April 23, during the latter’s two-day visit to Cambodia. STPM
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra have jointly announced an agreement to enhance cooperation between the two countries in combating online scams. Both leaders declared that no groups would be allowed to use their territories for such activities, or other illegal operations.
The commitment was made during an April 23 press conference, during Paetongtarn’s two-day visit to Cambodia from April 23 to 24.
They also announced measures to address cross-border environmental pollution, strengthen military cooperation along the border, conduct border demining, improve land transportation links and reduce logistics costs.
Both sides discussed facilitating cross-border movement for tourism purposes, enhancing legal mechanisms for recruiting Cambodian workers to Thailand and advancing military cooperation.
“We discussed existing cooperation, including information sharing to combat cross-border crimes such as online fraud, the spread of fake news, human trafficking and the smuggling of counterfeit goods,” Manet told the assembled media at the press conference.
“I expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Hun Manet for the strong partnership of our police forces in combating online fraud and our continued collaboration to eliminate these criminal networks from the Cambodia-Thailand border region,” added his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn.
Recently, law enforcement officials from the two Kingdoms conducted joint operations against several criminal gangs operating online fraud syndicates in border provinces, including Poipet in Banteay Meanchey province. Thai authorities also conducted operations targeting such groups along their border with Myanmar.
The two prime ministers also explored ways to expand bilateral trade to $15 billion by 2027.
In 2024, Cambodia’s total trade with Thailand reached $4.29 billion, a 15.5% increase compared to 2023. Exports to Thailand amounted to $844.9 million, up 3.3%, while Thai imports totalled $3.44 billion, up 18.9%. Thailand is Cambodia’s fourth-largest trading partner, following China, the US and Vietnam.
