Counter-terrorism and trans-national crime will top the agenda at this week's South-West Pacific Dialogue meeting in Adelaide, New Zealand Foreign Minister Phil Goff has said. The third annual dialogue will bring together senior ministers from New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and East Timor. "Regional security will be the main focus of discussions. As we saw with this year's attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, and the 2002 Bali bombings, terrorism is as much an issue in this part of the world as anywhere," Mr Goff said. "The meeting offers a chance to collectively consider the regional terrorism situation, and to assess regional cooperation on counter-terrorism measures, maritime security and capacity-building initiatives."
People smuggling, illegal fishing and piracy are all issues that threaten regional growth and stability, and are likely to be discussed in detail. The South-West Pacific Dialogue process was set up at Indonesia's initiative in 2002 to discuss the major political, security, economic, social and cultural issues of the region. The first dialogue was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 2002, and the second was hosted by New Zealand last year on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. |