TOKYO, April 18 (UPI) -- The U.N. counter-terrorism head was in Tokyo Thursday to open a dialogue on enhancing cooperation with the Group of Eight industrialized nations.
Mike Smith, executive director of the U.N. Counter-terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, has been traveling to the G8 countries to hold bilateral discussions on how the United Nations and the G8 can better coordinate on how to fight terrorism. Smith held meetings with Japanese officials on Thursday. He has also recently visited Beijing and has plans to travel to Moscow in the near future, the United Nations reported.
Officials say Smith has been working with the G8 nations -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- and their Counter-Terrorism Action Group on how the two bodies can improve their technical assistance interoperability.
CTAG was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and aims to "boost political will and promote the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373. It calls on countries to adopt measures to enhance their ability to counter terrorist activities nationally, regionally and globally," the release said.
