Thai PM will visit PH this year to discuss bilateral relations, anti-trafficking collab

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin will visit the Philippines this year to meet with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., Thailand's Foreign Affairs Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Thursday.

"We will also work closely to prepare for the visit of the Thai Prime Minister to the Philippines within this year," said Sangiampongsa, who met with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo in Makati City to discuss bilateral relations between the Philippines and Thailand and to address important and timely issues such as transnational crime.

Thailand is one of the hubs where some Filipino victims of illegal recruitment are sent to pose as tourists, then are instead transferred to Cambodia or Myanmar to work in crypto farms that use the "love scam" modus operandi.

Sangiampongsa said Thailand and the Philippines are already taking concrete measures to combat the issue.

"Our two countries will step up cooperation at the bilateral and ASEAN levels to crack down on the transnational criminal networks behind online scamming, which has become a serious regional and international threat. We'll push for coordinated and widespread actions to crack down on this criminal network and provide assistance to victims," he said.

Thailand and the Philippines have also agreed to further strengthen tourism between both countries and to establish flights that will expedite travel to various destinations in Thailand for Filipinos and to the Philippines for Thais.

"Both sides will explore a number of initiatives such as the expansion of flight routes between Cebu and Phuket," Sangiampongsa said. — BM, GMA Integrated News