An action plan on counter-terrorism has been approved by senior officials from 21 members of the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and will be submitted to the upcoming APEC ministerial and leaders' meetings.

The issue of counter-terrorism was widely discussed among the APEC senior officials on Wednesday, said Sihasak Phuangketkeaw, a spokesman for the Thai Foreign Ministry, who briefed reporters on the results of the two-day session of the APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM).

"It is felt that the APEC economies need to promote cooperation against terrorism. But at the same time, the measures taken against terrorism should not become obstacles to trade and investment in the region," said Sihasak.

According to him, the action plan includes the assessment of economic impact of terrorism in the region, as well as capacity building to deal with the threat of terrorism.

The plan also lists the cooperation between APEC economies and international financial institutions and organizations in the combat against terrorism, Sihasak said.

During the meeting, delegates of the United States proposed measures to suppress the production, shipment and sale of man- portable air defense systems.

The rising threat of terrorism has highlighted the importance, both economically and socially, of ensuring a safe and secure global community.

APEC is responding to the terrorist threat by pursuing several counter-terrorist initiatives that are intended to prevent the movement of funds, goods and people involved in terrorist activities, while at the same time ensuring unimpeded legitimate cross-border movement of goods and people.

The two-day SOM prepared agenda for the Oct. 17-18 APEC ministerial meeting and the 11th APEC Economic Leaders Meeting to be held on Oct. 20-21.

Other issues discussed by senior officials included setting up a working mechanism to deal with the spread of epidemics such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), maritime transportation security cooperation and energy security.

On Tuesday, senior officials agreed on the importance for APEC economies to work together to coordinate and to play a role to advance the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks of the World Trade Organization, which is scheduled to conclude by the end of this year.

"It is felt that even though the ministerial meeting in Cancun (Mexico) was not as successful as many had expected, this did not diminish the importance of the multilateral talks under the Doha Round," said Sihasak.

APEC now groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

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