The 14th annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) ended here Thursday, with agreements in the fields of combating terrorism, preventing bird flu outbreak, beefing up economy and maintaining security in the region.

Some 280 delegates from 22 member countries in the region, one observer country and representatives of the Asian Development Bank, finished their discussions of the issues, which started on Jan. 16.

"In the last four days, we have devoted our time and strength to the work and objectives of the APPF. We exchange views on issues of common interest in the fields of security, politics, socio economics, environment and development," said the president of the APPF and the head of the Indonesian delegation, Agung Laksono, in his speech during the closing ceremony Thursday afternoon.

He said that at this meeting, APPF was evolving in a context that features even stronger dynamism. Nation in the region is increasingly connected through Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, he added.

"In the spirit of trust and understanding, we managed to settle the diversity of perspectives that come to light during our deliberation," he said.

The forum has also decided that the 15th APPF meeting will be held in Russia in January 2007, and supported the New Zealand's proposal to host the 16th APPF in 2008.

Source: Xinhua