APEC statement

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 22, 2001

Here are excerpts from the text of the statement against terrorism issued Sunday at the end of a summit by leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum:

Leaders unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks in the United States on 11 September, 2001, and express their deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims of a large number of nationalities and their families and to the people and government of the United States of America.

Leaders consider the murderous deeds as well as other terrorist acts in all forms and manifestations, committed wherever, whenever and by whomsoever as a profound threat to the peace, prosperity and security of all people, of all faiths, of all nations. Terrorism is also a direct challenge to APEC's vision of free, open and prosperous economies and to the fundamental values that APEC members hold.

Leaders reaffirm that it is more important than ever for every economy to forge ahead in its commitment in achieving ... free, open trade and investment.

Leaders commit to prevent and suppress all forms of terrorist acts in the future in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other international law, ... strongly support all efforts to strengthen the international anti-terrorism regime, call for increased cooperation to bring perpetrators to justice, and also call for early signing and ratification of all basic universal anti-terrorist conventions including the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.

Leaders are determined to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation in line with specific circumstances in their respective economies, through:

Appropriate financial measures to prevent the flow of funds to terrorists, including accelerating work on combating financial crimes through APEC Finance Ministers' Working Group on Fighting Financial Crime;

Adherence by all economies to relevant international requirements for the security of air and maritime transportation. Leaders call on transport ministers to actively take part in the discussions on enhancing airport, aircraft and port security, achieve effective outcomes as early as possible, and assure full implementation and cooperation in this regard;

Enhancement of customs communication networks and expeditious development of a global integrated electronic customs network, which would allow customs authorities to better enforce laws while minimizing the impact on the flow of trade;

Strengthening capacity building and economic and technical cooperation to enable member economies to put into place and enforce effective counter-terrorism measures.

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