Prime Minister Hun Manet has designated Stung Treng province as a significant priority for national social security. The Prime Minister underscored that Stung Treng, due to its strategic location as a major transit area bordering Laos and other nations, is particularly vulnerable to transnational criminal activities. He emphasized the urgent need for local authorities to bolster management and enforcement measures to prevent any infiltration or proliferation of the “black economy.”
The Prime Minister specifically highlighted illicit activities such as drug trafficking and human trafficking as key concerns, which collectively constitute the “black economy.” He recalled previous successful operations by law enforcement, including arrests related to drug destruction and the thwarting of illegal cross-border smuggling operations from other countries into Cambodia via Stung Treng. Given these past incidents, he stressed the critical importance of combating all forms of illegal cross-border activities within this region.
Addressing the provincial authorities, Prime Minister Hun Manet issued a clear directive: “I ask all provincial authorities to continue carrying out this work carefully. Make sure our province is not involved in anything dangerous. Anything related to the black economy, do not bring into the province at all.” This decisive statement was delivered during the inauguration ceremony of various new achievements in Stung Treng city on the morning of August 12.
The Prime Minister further noted that Stung Treng province’s considerable distance from the capital, Phnom Penh, while posing logistical challenges for some legitimate businesses, inadvertently creates an environment that could be conducive to illicit operations that seek to avoid scrutiny. He reiterated that such “unwanted occupations” severely compromise social security. Therefore, he urged a unified effort to resist criminal networks, whether they operate solely within the province or across the nation, through robust prevention and strict enforcement of the law. This commitment, he asserted, is an environment that the government is determined to guarantee, as any association with criminal networks could tarnish the province’s reputation, making it significantly harder to achieve legitimate development and progress.
