Bangkok, Oct 18: Ministers from Apec's 21 member nations agreed today to step up the fight against terrorism, vowing to accelerate measures to stem the cross-border flow of equipment and money used for illicit purposes.
"Ministers are committed to ongoing work in blocking the cross-border movement of equipment, funds and people involved in transnational terrorist activities while at the same time enhancing the free flow of legitimate travellers, trade and investment," they said in a joint statement after two days of talks.

"Ministers reiterated their resolve to secure trade and make Apec economies more resilient to the threat of terrorism," the statement said, and called on senior Apec officials to ramp up efforts to tighten security measures.

They highlighted the threat posed by handheld anti-aircraft missile systems, or manpads, and called for stronger domestic controls on their production, stockpiling and brokering.

The statement said this was necessary to "prevent aquisition by terrorists of these systems and a potentially devastating attack that would severally reduce tourism and business travel".

Bureau Report