Philippine โฃPresident โขMarcos Begins โCambodia Visit to Boost Trade, Combat Transnational Crime
Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Philippine President โฃFerdinand โคMarcos โคJr. arrived โinโ Cambodia Sunday for a three-dayโ state visit, marking the first by a Philippine president as 2016 and signaling a renewedโข focus on strengthening โbilateralโ ties and tackling shared security concerns.โข the visit, at the invitation of โฃKing Norodomโฃ Sihamoni, follows February’s reciprocal tripโข to the Philippines by Cambodian Prime Ministerโค Hun Manet, during which eight agreements wereโ signed covering trade, investment, agriculture, education, tourism,โฃ and data and communications technology.The tripโข is considered “highly crucial”โ by the Philippine Departmentโฃ of Foreign Affairs,โ with President Marcosโ aiming to expand economic cooperation and collaborate with Cambodia on addressing transnational crimes, particularly โฃhuman trafficking.โข This urgency stemsโ from recent cases of Filipino citizens falling victim โคto online scam syndicates operating in โฃthe region.
in August, โa rescue operationโ successfully brought 24 Filipinosโฃ home who had been recruitedโ through Facebook job postings promising legitimate work as encoders or customer service representatives. Though, the Bureau of Immigration โคreported these individuals were โขcoerced into โขparticipating โฃin “love scam” operations.โ
Analysts โคbelieve the visit provides a โplatform for both nations to unlock untappedโ trade opportunities and โขdeepen โขcooperation onโ regional security challenges. The focus on combating transnational crime reflects a growing concernโ over the exploitation of vulnerable populations throughโข online scams and trafficking networks.
