Press Releases
Signing and Exchange of Notes Concerning the Grant Assistance “the Project for Strengthening Cross-Border Cooperation to Combat Transnational Organized Crimes in the Mekong Region”
February 16, 2026
On February 16 (same day local time), in Bangkok, the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand, Mr. OTAKA Masato, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Thailand, and Ms. Delphine SCHANTZ, Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), signed and exchanged notes for the Grant Assistance “the Project for Strengthening Cross-Border Cooperation to Combat Transnational Organized Crimes in the Mekong Region” (up to 516 million yen).
- In recent years, transnational organized crime including special fraud has become increasingly serious. Much of this activity is carried out by criminal organizations operating from Southeast Asia, especially in the Mekong region. At the ASEAN-Japan Summit held last October, leaders reaffirmed the need to strengthen cooperation against transnational crime. Coordinated countermeasures among the countries in the region are now an urgent shared priority.
- This project aims to promote safety and sustainable development of the region as a whole by strengthening the investigative capabilities of law enforcement authorities and by establishing a framework for international cooperation among the four Mekong countries — the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. To this end, the project will provide specialized investigative equipment and training for relevant personnel, as well as develop operational guidelines and related procedures for special fraud and international coordination.
- This project also embodies the support for the commitment of Japan and the Mekong region countries to working together to proactively address non-traditional security issues, including international organized crime, in a collective manner to create a prosperous and resilient Mekong region, as outlined in the "Mekong-Japan Cooperation Strategy 2024."
(Reference) Mekong-Japan Cooperation Strategy 2024
The Mekong-Japan Cooperation Strategy 2024 is a policy for cooperation between Japan and the Mekong region countries for the five years adopted at the 15th Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting in July 2024.