On 30 May and 2 June 2025, H.E. Ms. Pattarat Hongthong, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), together with a Thai delegation led by Professor Wisit Wisitsora-at, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), attended an OSCE Asian Partners for Co-operation Group (APCG) Meeting and a Special Workshop on “Combatting Online Scams” hosted by Thailand and Malta (Chairperson of Asian Partners) on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Thailand - OSCE partnership in Vienna, Austria.

At both events, Professor Wisitsora-at, Chair of the ASEAN Working Group on Anti-Online Scam (WG-AS) delivered a keynote speech, highlighting both national and regional policy frameworks against online scams, and how to promote cooperation between ASEAN and OSCE to tackle this transnational threat that has led to other criminal activities such as financial crimes and human trafficking. Other Thai panelists included representatives from the Bank of Thailand, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, and the Anti-Online Scam Operation Centre, MDES, showcasing Thailand’s legal frameworks and exchanging best practices in preventing and countering online scams with panelists from public and private sectors including online platform operators from OSCE and Asian Partners.

The APCG Meeting agreed that it is important for OSCE Participating States and Asian Partners to promote cooperation between the public and private sectors at both regional and international levels, emphasizing the responsibility of digital platform service providers to the public, the need for information sharing and coordination among law enforcement agencies, as well as the use of technological tools such as AI and Big Data to detect crimes and prosecute the online scammers.

The APCG Meeting is an ambassadorial-level meeting between 57 OSCE Participating States and 5 Asian Partners for cooperation, namely Afghanistan, Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Thailand. The Asian Partners host an annual meeting in rotation to discuss and exchange knowledge, expertise, best practices, including regional and global security issues of common interest.