LIMA (Sputnik) — Ministers of trade, economy and foreign affairs of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries reaffirmed the need to improve border controls in light of terrorism threat in their joint statement on Friday.
"We encourage officials to continue implementing the APEC Consolidated Counter-Terrorism and Secure Trade Strategy and, in light of the threat that foreign terrorist fighter (FTF) travelers pose to the integrity of the region's transportation infrastructure, focus on the strategy's call for immigration and border officials to manage the flow of bona-fide international travelers in and out of economies," the statement, issued by the ministers following their meeting in the Peruvian capital of Lima, read.
The ministers also encouraged APEC member economies to use government tools "that also facilitate legitimate travel by enabling authorities to process travelers at border crossings more quickly."
The ministerial meeting will be followed by the summit on November 20.
