The Swiss government announced on Wednesday a new cooperation accord with the United States on the fight against terror, Swiss Radio International (SRI) reported.

The new accord, which will go before parliament for approval, is to replace a secret judicial aid agreement signed between the two countries in 2002, following the terrorist attacks of September 2001 in New York.

That secret agreement, known as the "Operative Working Arrangement", was never presented to parliament because some parts of it were considered too favorable to the U.S.

In June 2005, the Swiss government felt it was high time to have cooperation with the U.S. authorities in a more defined manner.

So it asked the Justice and Police Ministry to come up with a new text, which was finally put together after negotiations with Washington.

"The issue of making this accord public proved a stumbling block during the negotiations but the Americans finally accepted it," said Swiss Justice and Police Minister Christoph Blocher.

The agreement of 2002 had been signed "in great emotion" to help in the fight against the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation, he added.

The new accord will be more precise and clear about cooperation in the fight against terrorism and its financing, according to SRI.

It foresees the exchange of law enforcement officials to create joint teams of investigators, who will only act when a criminal procedure has been opened in the two countries and given to a prosecutor.

The government also said that the new accord would contain severe restrictions on the use of information gathered by the investigators.

The new accord will have to be debated in the two houses of the Swiss parliament before it can come into operation.

The House of Representatives will discuss it first before the end of the year, SRI said.

Source: Xinhua