India today raised with Laos the issue of trafficking of Indian nationals through cyber scam centres and measures to rescue scores of people who have fallen victim to such criminal networks.

The issue came up when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone in Vientiane. Jaishankar is in the Lao capital to attend ASEAN-related meetings.

“During my call with the Prime Minister of Lao PDR, I raised the issue of trafficking of Indian citizens through cyber scam hubs,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.

“We appreciate the continued cooperation of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic government in the rescue and relief of our citizens,” he said.

Jaishankar said he also discussed the same issue with the foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand.

Hundreds of Indian citizens have fallen victim to cyber scam rings, often run by Chinese criminal organisations, in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. Workers, who are often lured with promises of jobs in the IT sector, are forced to participate in various cyber scams. Hundreds of people have been rescued from these four countries and repatriated in recent years.

Jaishankar also conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s greetings to Sonexay and discussed India-Laos development partnership as well as cooperation in defence, energy, digital technology, capacity building and heritage conservation.

In a separate meeting, Jaishankar and Lao Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith witnessed the exchange of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on 10 quick-impact projects for Laos under the Mekong Ganga Cooperation initiative and cooperation on sharing digital solutions.

Jaishankar and Saleumxay launched a special series of postage stamps celebrating the shared cultural treasures of Ramayana and Buddhism.

The Laos commemorative postage stamp series showcases the civilizational connection between the two countries and consists of two stamps depicting Lord Buddha from the city of Luang Prabang, the ancient capital of Laos, and Lord Ram from Ayodhya.

In addition to its links to Buddhism, the Ramayana (the Lao version of which is called Ramakien or the story of Phra Lak Phra Ram) is revered in Laos and performed on auspicious occasions.

The theme of the stamp series is therefore “Celebrating the shared cultural heritage of Lao PDR and India”. A unique feature of the series is that the Lao stamp on Lord Ram is the first stamp in the world to depict Ram Lalla of Ayodhya.