Khaled Ahmed, INTERPOL Senior Operations Assistant
Channel: INTERPOL
Date: 2016-11-06

BANGKOK, Thailand – Enhancing border security across Southeast Asia was the focus of an INTERPOL training course held under the framework of the EU-ASEAN Migration and Border Management Programme II.
Hosted by the Royal Thai Police, the nine-day (25 October – 3 November) train-the-trainer course on integrated border management aimed to build the capacity of countries in the region to address crimes such as illegal immigration, people smuggling and border management, using INTERPOL's global policing capabilities.
These include its I-24/7 secure police communications system, global Notice alerts, and databases such as its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database.
Police Major General Pornchai Kuntee, Deputy Commissioner of Thailand’s Immigration Bureau said: “With the ASEAN region facing cross-border problems such as illegal migration and human trafficking, INTERPOL training under the EU-ASEAN programme is important in helping build knowledge and connections for law enforcement in the region.”
The EU-ASEAN Migration and Border Management Programme II was launched on 20 October 2015 at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.
This three-year Programme, funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by INTERPOL, aims to support ASEAN in its integration process through the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity. In particular, the Programme intends to improve people to people connectivity, by strengthening law enforcement agencies’ networks and cooperation at main regional transit hubs, and by working on easing visa requirements for ASEAN and non-ASEAN nationals within ASEAN.
"The EU-ASEAN Migration and Border Management Programme deals with one of the most pressing challenges of our times – the growing movement of people across borders in an ever more global and connected world in which criminal organizations see no borders,” said Franck Viault, Head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam.
"Stamping out all forms of organized crime, including trafficking in persons, is a priority for cooperation between Europe and South East Asia through INTERPOL," added Mr Viault. 
The training focused on INTERPOL’s policing capabilities and border management programme, effective presentation skills, migrant smuggling and human trafficking investigative techniques, counterfeit document analysis, interviewing methods, understanding legal frameworks, and human rights.
INTERPOL Project Manager Rastislav Sasik said: “The training course in Bangkok represents a further important step in providing participants with a deeper understanding of INTERPOL’s global policing capabilities, enhancing their skills to conduct border management operations, tackle transnational crime, and create a sustainable network in the ASEAN region for the sharing of knowledge and expertise."
The event involved experts from subject matter experts from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), INTERPOL, Australian Federal Police, a Document Expert from Dutch Embassy in Beijing, with 19 law enforcement participants from ASEAN Member States.