Thai and Laotian officials met in Bangkok today to discuss trafficking along their countries’ borders, among other subjects. Last week, the 2 countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to work together on a wide range of issues, among them drug and human trafficking. Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan, and Laotian Deputy Prime Minister Chansamone Chanyalath, also discussed illegal immigration, which is often tangled up with human trafficking in Thailand.
Thailand’s borders with its neighbours are known as places of crime. Desperate people from Laos and Myanmar are often smuggled into Thailand, hoping to get jobs there. Migrants often pay agencies for transportation and help finding work, only to be caught by Thailand’s border police.
At today’s meeting, Prawit and Chansamone discussed plans to strengthen local economies of villages…
