Jakarta, Indonesia Sentinel — Indonesia’s Minister of Immigration and Corrections, Agus Andrianto, held a bilateral meeting with Cambodia Director General of Immigration, Sok Veasna, to address growing concerns over human trafficking. The high-level talks took place in Bali on Monday (May 19, 2025), with a focus on protecting citizens and cracking down on transnational crimes.
“We hope this meeting will lead to meaningful outcomes, especially in protecting our citizens and combating transnational crime,” said Minister Agus in an official statement, as reported by Detik.
Joined by Acting Director General of Immigration Yuldi Yusman, Agus emphasized the importance of deepening cooperation to address trafficking in persons and broader immigration challenges faced by both nations.
“This meeting serves as a key platform for sharing experiences, strengthening mutual understanding, and developing innovative solutions to immigration issues that impact both countries,” he added.
The bilateral meeting comes amid a surge in Indonesian nationals traveling to Cambodia in recent years, many of whom have been found working illegally and becoming entangled in online gambling and scamming operations.
In response, both countries signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to formalize cooperation on immigration issues and combat illegal migration. Under the agreement, Indonesia and Cambodia will collaborate on information sharing, technical assistance, and human resource development.
“We are also raising awareness about the risks of accepting dubious overseas job offers, particularly those that require applicants to provide false information to obtain a passport,” said Agus. “Currently, we are working with 185 designated ‘Immigration Awareness Villages’ across Indonesia.”
Yuldi highlighted the urgency of placing an Indonesian immigration attaché in Cambodia to strengthen bilateral coordination.
“To effectively tackle human trafficking, we will designate focal points in both countries and intensify information exchange as well as best practice sharing to resolve immigration-related cases involving Indonesians in Cambodia,” he said.
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Indonesia, he noted, has taken a comprehensive approach to fighting human trafficking, including through bilateral, regional, and international forums. A significant milestone was the inclusion of anti-human smuggling provisions in the country’s 2011 Immigration Law (Law No. 6/2011), which imposes tough penalties on traffickers and facilitators.
Yuldi also detailed Indonesia’s preventive efforts, such as delaying or denying passport issuance and overseas travel for individuals suspected of becoming undocumented migrant workers. Between January and April 2025, immigration officers at airports and seaports across the country blocked the departures of roughly 5,000 prospective non-procedural migrant workers.
He concluded by underscoring the Ministry’s proactive role beyond border control, including the launch of the Immigration Awareness Villages program, which aims to educate rural communities on the risks and regulations related to migration.
(Raidi/Agung)
