Cambodian authorities urge compatriots to return to work in Thailand

BANGKOK, June 17 (TNA) - Cambodian Ambassador to Thailand Eat Sophea says that Cambodian authorities will encourage Cambodian people to return to work in Thailand. The Cambodian top envoy made the announcement on Tuesday, after her meeting with Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow, who explained Thailand's policies on migrant workers to her. The meeting followed the exodus of Cambodian workers who feared round-ups by Thai authorities, as rumoured, after a coup staged by the Thai army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) on May 22, 2014. Sihasak, who held a joint press conference with the Cambodian Ambassador, insisted that the NCPO does not plan any forceful eradication of migrant workers, but it only intends to regulate them to protect them from human trafficking and provide them with equal benefits and legal protection Thai workers have enjoyed. Sihasak stressed that the NCPO wants to develop sound relations with neighboring countries, including Cambodia. The Cambodian top envoy noted that the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will spread the message to Cambodian nationals and to encourage them to return to work in Thailand through legal channels. Meanwhile, nearly 100 Cambodian workers on Tuesday entered Thailand from Cambodian Poiplet Town through Aranyaprathet District of Sa Kaeo Province in the Thai East, as Cambodia exported them legally to Thailand under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the supply of workers. Representatives of two businesses in Samut Prakan and Songkhla Provinces received the Cambodian workers in Aranyaprathet, representing the first group of Cambodian workers entering Thailand amid the exodus of their compatriots from Thailand over the past weeks. (TNA)