Counter-terrorism officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan met in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on February 10 to intensify their efforts in preventing and suppressing terrorism.
"Terrorism remains a hot topic threatening people in many countries in the world including the countries in ASEAN despite active efforts at national, regional and international levels", said Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng.
Sar Kheng said that the meeting will greatly benefit participating countries as they can propose their anti-terrorism projects to Japan for support through the Japan-ASEAN Integrated Fund to fight terrorism.
According to a media release, as ASEAN integration makes steady progress, terrorism is considered the major impediment which could undermine ASEAN efforts to enhance "connectivity", therefore, toward 2015, continuous and further Japan-ASEAN cooperation for this area is expected to be assured.
The two-day meeting is being co-chaired by Sieng Lapresse, undersecretary of state for Cambodian Ministry of Interior, and Takaaki Kojima, ambassador in charge of International Counter- Terrorism Cooperation of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
(Xinhua/VOVNews)
