Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman has recently paid a working visit to the United States to learn about the best practices in the management of cyber crime against children, including those relating to child pornography and sexual exploitation.

The four-day working visit, which began on Sept 11, was aimed at studying all types of possible threats of sexual crime against children, especially after the enforcement of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and the opening of the Special Court for Sexual Crimes Against Children.

"The working visit has also improved international cooperation and exchange of information and technical expertise in certain fields, hence strengthened the diplomatic ties between the two countries," according to the media statement issued by her office here on Saturday.

Several forms of cooperation with law enforcers in the US were proposed during the visit and would be studied to empower the administration, working process, infrastructure and technology used in handling crime in the country.

A series of meeting were convened during the visit, including with New York District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.; acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon H. Kim; Chief of the Criminal Division for the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York Lisa Zornberg; Assistant US Attorney and Cyber Crime Coordinator Eun Young Choi; and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent John Robertson.

The statement also stated that Azalina had joined the Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim in visiting the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Washington.

"The visit to the NCMEC itu had also enabled Malaysia to learn about issues championed by the agency, especially in the efforts to locate missing children and to tackle reports on sexual exploitation against children," the statement said.

-- BERNAMA