Security forces across Europe and Asia will step up cooperation in their fight against terrorism following last week's attacks on the United States, ministers from both continents pledged Wednesday.
"We have found a great deal of common ground in the prevention of and fight against terrorist activities," said Chinese minister for public security Jia Chunwang.
Representatives from the two continents at a three-day meeting on trans-national crime, scheduled before the terror attacks, had expressed their "strong opposition to terrorism and our willingness to improve international cooperation in that area," he said.
Jia added that China had assured the US of its full cooperation in investigating the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, which claimed thousands of lives.
"As soon as we get any information we shall give it to the US," he pledged.
Italian Interior Minister Claudio Scajola, also speaking at the conference organized by the 25-member Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) bloc, said the devastation of September 11 had been an attack "not just against the United States but against the whole world".
He said the conference had seen "great willingness on collaboration between the 25 countries" to fight terrorism.
"I think that after today, criminals and terrorists will no longer be so calm," he said.
ASEM groups the 15 European Union members and 10 countries from Asia -- BEIJING (AFP)
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