Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, together with the ASEAN Ministers responsible for combating transnational crime, and Timor-Leste as Observer, attended the 18th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime in Vientiane, Lao PDR on 28 August 2024. The Meeting was held under the theme “ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience” and chaired by Lao PDR. SG Dr. Kao delivered opening remarks during the Opening Ceremony, where he expressed his readiness to work closely with ASEAN Member States in intensifying their efforts to shape ASEAN’s collective agenda to combat both current and emerging transnational crime. The Meeting exchanged views on recent and emerging trends in transnational crime and the progress of implementation of the ASEAN Plan of Action (PoA) in Combating Transnational Crime (2016-2025). The Meeting also saw adoption of a Declaration, a Joint Statement and other guiding documents as the outcome documents. The 18th AMMTC welcomed Malaysia as the incoming AMMTC Chair in 2025. The Consultations with China, Japan, the Republic of Korea as well as with the Plus Three will take place in the following day.
Secretary-General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn’s opening remarks delivered at the 18th AMMTC is available under the following link:https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Draft-SGs-Remarks-at-Opening-Ceremony-of-the-18th-AMMTC-28Aug24-clean.pdf
