THE Counter-Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has encouraged the 21 member-economies to propose activities to counter terrorism and secure supply chains, travel, finance and infrastructure across the region.
“We are encouraging economies to propose activities to address the Foreign Terrorist Fighters phenomenon,” group chairman Oscar Valenzuela said during the closing ceremony of the 6th APEC CTWG meeting held at Marco Polo Plaza in Cebu City yesterday.
Valenzuela, acting executive director of the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Council-Program Management Center, said he was waiting for Indonesia’s proposal under Business Resilience in Recovery which is expected to provide insights from the Bali and Jakarta bombings.
Valenzuela said there were “a lot of presentations and a lively exchange of ideas” during their workshop on Aug. 30 to 31. He said he hoped the lessons from the workshop will be applied in the delegates’ economies.
“The threat of terrorism is very real. Lives are lost, families are broken. Communities are destroyed. People are forced to live in harsh conditions, fearing for their lives. And many people are forced to flee their homes. Slowly, many of the historical and cultural treasures are being systematically destroyed,” said Valenzuela.
The delegates shared updates on their economies’ Counter-Terrorism Action Plans (CTAP) and discussed their strategic plan for 2013-2017.
Valenzuela said these updates are important as they provide an avenue for the economies to report on the progress of their efforts against terrorism and to secure trade, and to possibly learn best practices from one another.
He also cited the need to assess where they stand in terms of the implementation of their strategic plan.
The group’s next meeting will be in Peru next year. By then, Valenzuela said he hoped the group would be ready to either approve or amend further the strategic plan.
During his opening remarks on Monday, Valenzuela called for a unified campaign against terrorism.
“We must, as one global community and one united Asia-Pacific region, unite and help each other in this effort against terrorism. Our economies cannot do it alone,” he said.
Valenzuela said the fight against terrorism is a key component in building sustainable and resilient communities, which is one of the key priorities of APEC.