On 28 September 2023, Ms. Usana Berananda, Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs welcomed Mr. Bo Mathiasen, Deputy Director of Division for Operations, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.

       Both sides had a fruitful exchange on several areas of mutual interest, including exploring opportunities to complement ASEAN efforts on tackling transnational crime such as anti-money laundering, combatting human and drugs trafficking, land and maritime border management and strengthening cooperation on cyber security and cybercrime, as well as ways to support Lao PDR’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024. Furthermore, the Director-General provided updates on Thailand’s initiative to draft the ASEAN Border Management Cooperation Roadmap, which UNODC expressed readiness to assist.

       Mr. Mathiasen is on a visit to UNODC Regional Offices to strengthen ties with target countries.