Nepal and Thailand have agreed to strengthen joint efforts to curb human trafficking, online scamming and cybercrime amid a rise in such cases involving Thailand as a transit point.

The agreement was reached during a meeting in Bangkok on Friday between Nepal’s Ambassador to Thailand, Dhan Bahadur Oli, and Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, Senior Inspector General and Director of the Police Cyber Taskforce and Anti-Human Trafficking Centre.

According to the Nepali Embassy in Bangkok, the meeting focused on the growing misuse of tourist visas by trafficking networks using Thailand as a transit hub in recent years.

Pitaneelaboot said the Royal Thai Police would take immediate action upon receiving information related to trafficking cases from the Nepali Embassy.

Oli thanked the Thai authorities for their support in rescuing and repatriating Nepali nationals trafficked to Thailand and neighbouring countries.

Both sides expressed concern over the increasing trafficking of people from different countries to online scam centres operating in neighbouring countries and stressed the need for cooperation to rescue victims trapped in such centres.

The two sides also agreed to institutionalise intelligence and information sharing between the law enforcement agencies of Nepal and Thailand to combat cybercrime, smuggling and transnational crimes.

The Nepali Embassy in Bangkok said the meeting also discussed expanding cooperation between the police agencies of the two countries on capacity building