ASEAN police chiefs agree to boost cooperation

VOV News
http://english.vovnews.v

05/16/2009

The 29th ASEAN Police Chiefs Conference (ASEANAPOL) concluded in Hanoi on May 15 after a three-day sitting.

Nearly 300 representatives from the police forces of 10 ASEAN member countries and representatives of their dialogue partners from Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand, held two plenary sessions and a number of other sub-committee meetings.

They agreed to set up a permanent secretariat for ASEANAPOL, which is scheduled to operate on January 1, 2010 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They also agreed to carry out a number of cooperation projects between ASEAN countries and their dialogue partners to combat crime.

The participants pledged to intensify efforts to prevent drug-related crime, terrorism, arms smuggling, human trafficking as well as financial, hi-tech and drug-related transnational crime. ASEAN police forces will pool personnel training, provide each other with judicial assistance in penal matters and establish a criminal database.

Singapore’s police will begin a pilot course in foreign language training for ASEAN police officers in June. A seminar on the establishment of a criminal database system will take place in Vietnam later this year.

The 30th ASEANAPOL conference will be held in Cambodia in 2010.