APEC set to approve counter-terrorism pact

HANOI, Nov 13 (Reuters) Asia-Pacific nations are set to approve a series of measures to fight terrorism in a region that boasts some of the world's highest growth rates, Vietnam's deputy foreign minister said today.

Achieving a consensus among the 21 nations of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on the measure was not easy, said Deputy Foreign Minister Le Cong Phung, who chaired a conference of senior officials preparing for this week's APEC meetings in Hanoi.

Senior officials approved the report of an APEC Special Task Force on Counter-Terrorism, including eight initiatives, Phung said in a statement at the end of their two-day conference.

South Korea's Park Sang-ki will be the new chairman of the special task force for the next two years.

''This is a very important result, showing clearly the hosting role of Vietnam, because this is a sensitive area. Many issues of 2006 could only be agreed upon at the last minute,'' Phung said.

He did not give details of the eight initiatives, which now will go before APEC's meeting of foreign ministers on Thursday and the leaders' summit on Sunday.

But it would be a significant move away from the group's founding goal of bolstering trade and investment around the Pacific rim.

Security officials fear a major terrorist attack would strike a severe blow to APEC economies that account for nearly have of global trade, 40 per cent of the world's population and 56 percent of the world's gross domestic product.

The initiatives are expected to find ways of strengthening security at airports and seaports, among other projects.

REUTERS PDM PM1746