Asia Pacific economies have reached a consensus on a declaration condemning terrorism in the wake of the attacks on the United States, a Chinese official said Wednesday. I think a consensus has been reached and the main content of the statement is that members are committed to the fight against international terrorism, China's APEC secretariat spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue told a briefing.
Zhang declined to comment when asked if a contentious reference to money laundering had been removed from a revised draft discussed by senior Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) officials earlier this week.
The statement was being discussed by APEC foreign and trade ministers who began a two-day meeting on Wednesday, and will be released at a weekend summit to be attended by US President George W. Bush and other leaders.
New Zealand foreign minister Phil Goff said he was confident there would be a consensus which would allow every country to participate in a way that it sees most appropriate.
The original draft of the declaration included a pledge to introduce financial measures to stop the flow of funds to terrorists, including accelerating APEC work on combatting money laundering.
The draft made no reference to the us-led retaliatory strikes against Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, which have been criticised by APEC members Indonesia and Malaysia, both Muslim-majority states, which have seen public protests Bureau Report