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WASHINGTON D.C., USA 4 – 5 April 2012 - The second ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) Experts’ Working Group (EWG) on Counter Terrorism was held in Washington D.C.,USA from 4 to 5 April 2012.
The meeting was attended by representatives of all ASEAN Member States and the Plus Countries, except for Myanmar and India.
Brunei Darussalam was represented by Col (U) Hamzah Bin Sahat, Chief of Staff, Joint Force Headquarters and two Research Officers from the Directorate of Defence Policy and Directorate of Intelligence respectively.
The Second EWG on Counter terrorism Meeting was built on discussions arising from the inaugural EWG meeting on Counter terrorism held in Makassar, Indonesia last September 2011. The meeting is to further discuss the upcoming planned Counter Terrorism Exercise (CTX) that is scheduled to be held in September 2013. The meeting also discussed several topics on Counter Terrorism issues; ‘Developing Whole of Government Counter Terrorism Policies: Processes for Effective Interagency Collaboration’, ‘Perspectives on Counter Terrorism Challenges in the Region’ and ‘De-Radicalization and Rehabilitation in the Region: Challenges and Best Practices’.
Counter terrorism is one of the five areas for cooperation agreed by the inaugural ADMM-Plus Meeting when it first met in October 2010. The EWG on Counter terrorism is currently co-chaired by Indonesia and USA until 2013.
The other EWGs under the ADMM-Plus framework include humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter-terrorism, military medicine and peace keeping operations. The EWGs will provide opportunities for the ADMM-Plus countries to work together to address regional security challenges and enhance mutual understanding.
The 1st ADMM-Plus Counter terrorism EWG meeting was held from 19 to 20 September 2011 in Makassar, Indonesia.