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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - ASEAN ministers responsible for combating transnational crime have called for the expeditious ratification of the ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism which was signed in 2007.

According to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on Saturday, so far only Singapore and Thailand had ratified the convention.

The ministers issued the call at the Seventh ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) held on November 17-18 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The AMMTC was followed by the 4th AMMTC + 3 Consultation and the inaugural AMMTC + China Consultation. Cambodian Prime Minister h Hun Sen delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony.

The ministers endorsed the ASEAN Comprehensive Plan of Action on Counter Terrorism and also adopted the ASEAN Work Plan on Combating Illicit Drug Production, Trafficking and Use (2009-2015), which would help the region in achieving ASEAN Drug Free 2015.

In a series of such meetings, a revised China-ASEAN Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation to tackle Non-Traditional Security
issues was signed by Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General of ASEAN, and Zhang Xinfeng, Vice Minister of Public Security of the People`s Republic of China, and the plan will be implemented from January 2010 until 2014.

In the very first AMMTC + China Consultation, the ministers noted with satisfaction the successful implementation of cooperation considering the previous MOU (2004-2008/9) through an annual work plan and expected results of this new MOU will bring a more integrated cooperation and strengthen activities to combat trans-national crime in Southeast Asia.

In their meeting with their counterparts from the Plus Three countries (China, Japan and the Republic of Korea), the ministers called for greater commitment and more expeditious implementation of existing cooperative mechanisms between ASEAN and the Plus Three countries in response to transnational crime issues.

The ministers also agreed to continue exploring the possible cooperative activities under the framework of the ASEAN Plus Three Work Plan to Combat Transnational Crime.

Indonesia will host the next series of meetings on transnational crime in November 2011.(*)

Editor: Ruslan Burhani

COPYRIGHT © 2009

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