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Russia Supports Malaysia's International Conference on Terrorism
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said Thursday that Russia supports a proposal by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for an institution of an international conference on global terrorism following the September 11th attacks on the United States and the heavy air strikes on Afghanistan.
Syed Hamid said that Russia's foreign minister, Igor Ivavnov, conveyed Russia's view to him.
"They [Russia] said that the Prime Minister's idea to have an international conference on terrorism was a good idea because it will serve as a long-term solution to the problem," he told Malaysian journalists covering the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting.
Mahathir, who will be in Shanghai on Saturday to attend the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, had proposed that an international conference on global terrorism be held not only to tackle the problem at its root, but also to define terrorist activities.
Malaysia believes that "freedom fighters" cannot be classified as terrorists. It has supported the struggle by the Bangsamoro people in the Philippines, and does not openly condemn the efforts of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for its struggle for recognition in Indonesia. Malaysia, however, does not approve of the GAM's demands for an independent state.
The APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Peru, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.S. and Vietnam.
Meanwhile, four of Malaysia's project proposals have been accepted for implementation at the 13th APEC Ministerial Meeting that began Wednesday.
Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry, Rafidah Aziz, said they were the setting up of a virtual network for linking information to all training centers within the APEC region in a network, a program on teleporting for those in human resource development, a study on cross-border mergers and acquisitions in APEC and a program on human capacity building.
Coincidently, she said that human capacity building is the core theme of APEC 2001 work program in which Malaysia participates and contributes actively.
This includes assisting in drafting of the "Beijing Initiative" and developing APEC's Human Capacity Building Strategy for the New Economy, Rafidah told Malaysian journalists here.
In relation to this, APEC ministers have endorsed two Malaysian projects for APEC human capacity building in 2002.
The first prepares human resources for the new economy which focuses on identifying displaced workers and re-training requirements for continuous employability in the new economy, and the second, a seminar on information sharing and best practices on teleporting which focuses on alternative working methods to enhance employability.
Aziz also stressed that APEC can serve as a prime mover towards evolving a new trade round at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting next month, without totally abandoning the remainder of the Uruguay Round negotiations.
With additional reporting by Kazi Mahmood
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