Thai labour minister visits Cambodia Feb 13-14

BANGKOK, February 13 (TNA) - Thai Labour Minister Police General Adul Sangsingkeo is paying a two-day visit to Cambodia, scheduled for February 13-14, to discuss and strengthen labour cooperation between the two neighboring countries in the ASEAN Community (AC). Accompanied by his entourage, including Permanent Secretary for Labour Jarin Chakkaphark and Department of Employment Director-General Anurak Tossarat, the Thai labour minister departed from Bangkok on Tuesday. Labour Ministry Spokeswoman Petcharat Sin-uay, who is also Deputy Permanent Secretary for Labour, told journalists that the Thai labour minister is scheduled to meet Cambodian Minister of Labour and Vocational and Training Ith Sam Heng to discuss bilateral labour cooperation, including the nationality verification of Cambodian migrant workers and a timeframe to complete the verification by Phnom Penh, set by June 30, 2018. The spokeswoman stated that the nationality verification, once completed, will be beneficial to Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand in terms of the protection of their rights and welfare in accordance with international standards and the prevention of human trafficking-related problems. Based on official statistics, the spokeswoman said, there are 595,986 Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand who need to have their nationality verified, over 197,000 of whom have had their nationality verified, while the remaining 398,187 have not yet passed the nationality verification process. (TNA)