TAIPEI: A memorandum of understanding to combat human smuggling and trafficking was signed here the other day in Washington by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the US.
“The goal is to prevent and reduce human smuggling and trafficking through the exchange of relevant information and coordination of efforts,” a statement that was issued by the AIT said.
“This partnership will allow for more effective identification, investigation and prosecution of human smugglers and networks operating on Taiwan and in the US,” the AIT said.
Taiwan has received a top ranking in the US Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons report for the past four years and Taiwanese authorities have invited AIT representatives to participate in recent anti-trafficking workshops in Taiwan.
“This MOU is another positive development in the important and productive cooperation between the people of the US and the people of Taiwan to combat trafficking in persons,” the AIT said.
The agreement was signed by AIT Managing Director Joseph Donovan and TECRO Deputy Representative Leo Lee and was witnessed by staff from the US Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center, the US Department of State and Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency.
