Customs officials from Cambodia, Australia and Hong Kong have emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation and exchange and share information to combat transnational crime.

General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE) director-general Kun Nhim led a delegation to the 24th Asia-Pacific Customs Director General Conference of the World Customs Organisations. The event, held in Perth, Australia, ran from May 28-31.

The agreement to improve cooperation came as the delegation met with officials from the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Hong Kong Customs Administration, on the sidelines of the conference.

“The main topics of the meetings were the strengthening of customs cooperation and the establishment of closer relations, along with the need to exchange and share information to combat transnational crime, promote trade facilitation and provide technical assistance of building capacities,” said a June 2 social media post by the GDCE.

It added that the conference was attended by delegations from 23 countries' customs administrations, the Asia/Pacific Regional Office for Capacity Building and the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office for Asia and the Pacific.