Jokowi Asks Cambodia to Share Intelligence Data to Combat Human Trafficking

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo expressed his gratitude to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet for addressing the issue of human trafficking. He emphasized the importance of strengthening cooperation between the two countries on this matter, specifically by exchanging intelligence information.

Jokowi conveyed his appreciation during his meeting with Manet at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Melbourne on Tuesday, March 5, on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Australia Summit. Aside from discussing economic and regional cooperation issues, he thanked the Cambodian government for its support in assisting Indonesian citizens who were victims of such crimes.

“The MoU on Eradicating Transnational Crime in 2023 needs to be implemented immediately, especially the exchange of intelligence information and the enhancement of police capacity in both countries,” Jokowi said in a written statement quoted by the Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat.

There has been no information released by Cambodia about the meeting with Jokowi on its official websites and social media.

Indonesia's Foreign Ministry has recorded a significant increase in technology-based crimes, such as human trafficking and online fraud, in 2023. In a press conference at the Indonesia Maju Media Center on January 4, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that the government had managed to repatriate more than 1,100 Indonesians who were victims of human trafficking and employed in online scam companies in Cambodia.

At the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara in May 2023, ASEAN leaders issued a declaration on eradicating human trafficking through the misuse of technology, serving as a reference for addressing similar cases in the Southeast Asian region.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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