India raises issue of trafficking of Indians with Laos
India today raised with Laos the issue of trafficking of Indian nationals through cyber-scam centres and measures for rescuing scores of people who have fallen victims to such criminal networks.
The issue figured when external affairs minister S Jaishankar met Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone in Vientiane. Jaishankar is in the Lao capital to attend Asean-related meetings.
“During my call on the Prime Minister of Lao PDR, took up the issue of the trafficking of Indian nationals through cyber scam centers,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.
“Appreciate the ongoing cooperation of Lao PDR government in the rescue and relief of our citizens,” he said.
Jaishankar said he also discussed the same matter with the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand.
Hundreds of Indian nationals have fallen victims to cyber scam networks, usually run by Chinese criminal syndicates, in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. The workers, who are usually lured with promises of jobs in the IT sector, are forced to participate in various cyber scams. Hundreds of people have been rescued from these four countries and repatriated in the past few years.
Jaishankar also conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings to Sonexay and discussed the development partnership between India and Laos, as well as cooperation in defence, energy, digital, capacity building and heritage conservation.
At a separate meeting, Jaishankar and Lao foreign minister Saleumxay Kommasith witnessed the exchange of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on 10 quick impact projects for Laos under the Mekong Ganga Cooperation initiative and cooperation in sharing digital solutions.
Jaishankar and Saleumxay launched a special postage stamp set celebrating the shared cultural treasures of Ramayana and Buddhism.
The commemorative postage stamp set by Laos showcases the civilisational connect between the two countries and consists of two stamps depicting Lord Buddha of the city of Luang Prabang, the ancient capital of Laos, and Lord Ram of Ayodhya.
Besides ties of Buddhism, the Ramayana (the Lao version of which is called Ramakien or the story of Phra Lak Phra Ram) is revered in Laos and performed on auspicious occasions.
The theme of the stamp set is therefore “Celebrating shared cultural heritage of Lao PDR and India”. A unique feature of the set is that the stamp by Laos on Lord Ram is the world’s first stamp depicting Ram Lalla of Ayodhya.