The Bureau of Immigration (BI) pledged to cooperate with other Southeast Asian countries in their concerted drive against human trafficking.
During the recent meeting of immigration and consular heads of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from August 7 to 11 in Thailand, ASEAN member countries discussed their commitment to continue strengthening border security and enhance regional cooperation on immigration matters, as well as intelligence data sharing protocols.
Also discussed were regional trends and challenges on people smuggling in the region and efforts of ASEAN member states to address the crime.
According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, who led the BI delegation, the forum serves as an opportunity to discuss regional cooperation, which is crucial in combating challenges including cross-border trafficking.
“This important annual forum allows us to discuss best practices in the ASEAN region that we can benchmark in our efforts to improve our services,” he said in a statement.
Officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also joined BI officials during the event.
The meeting, dubbed as the ASEAN Directors-General of Immigration Departments and Heads of Consular Affairs Divisions of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs (DGICM), is a regular gathering of heads of immigration and consular agencies in the ASEAN region and the ASEAN secretariat to discuss and coordinate regional cooperation towards the achievement of ASEAN Community-building goals.
The series of meetings included the 6th ASEAN Heads of Major Immigration Checkpoints Forum (AMICF), the 2nd Meeting of Heads of Specialist Unit (HSU) on People Smuggling, and the 18th ASEAN Immigration Intelligence Forum (AIIF).
This was followed by the 18th DGICM + Australia Consultation and the 2nd DGICM consultation with the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (DGICM + 3).
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