Prime Minister Hun Manet has called for stronger regional cooperation to combat online scams, cybercrime and transnational criminal networks, stressing that countries must work together through information-sharing, law enforcement cooperation and capacity-building to address increasingly sophisticated threats.

Addressing the 7th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Baku, Azerbaijan, Mr Hun Manet said such crimes could not be effectively tackled by individual countries acting alone.

“In an increasingly digital world, cybercrimes, online fraud and scams related to transnational criminal activities are becoming more sophisticated and cannot be effectively addressed by countries acting alone,” he said.

Cambodia therefore supports stronger information-sharing, law enforcement cooperation, capacity-building and cyber resilience, he added.

Mr Hun Manet said cooperation should fully respect national sovereignty, international law and the United Nations Charter, focusing on practical collaboration and mutual trust rather than geopolitical rivalry.

He cited Cambodia’s recent hosting of an international conference on combating online scams, which brought together participants from 26 countries and seven international organisations, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Interpol and the Lancang-Mekong Integrated Law Enforcement and Security Cooperation Center.

The adoption of the Phnom Penh Declaration further demonstrated Cambodia’s commitment to disrupting transnational criminal networks, protecting victims and strengthening international cooperation, he said.