Poipet

Poipet (Khmer: ប៉ោយប៉ែត [paojpaet]) is a city in Poipet Municipality, Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia near the border with Thailand, serving as a key crossing point between the two countries. Poipet is adjacent to the town of Aranyaprathet on the Thai side of the border. The city came into existence only quite recently for the express purpose of border trade; Sisophon had always been the primary urban center in what had been an agricultural area. Poipet's population has increased from 43,366 in the 1998 census to 89,549 in the 2008 census, making it the fourth most populous settlement in Cambodia just ahead of Sihanoukville and larger than its provincial capital Sisophon. During the Khmer Rouge regime, Poipet was the first place in Cambodia for International Relief Organisations to support the nearby Thai Border Camps. The United Nations staff were able to freely cross the border. In the years since 2008, Poipet has continued to boom both as a large town but also as a key gateway from and to Thailand. In addition to its border-casino economy, Poipet has been cited in reporting on guarded compounds linked to online scam operations and trafficking; see Scam centers in Cambodia.