BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Delegates attending the third International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) on Sunday called on sovereign countries and regional organizations to make joint efforts in the fight against terrorism.

  "We advocate strengthening cooperation among sovereign countries and between regional organizations against terrorism, taking steps to eliminate the root causes of terrorism while giving full play to the role of the United Nations," the delegates voiced their consensus in Beijing Declaration 2004, a document issued during the ICAPP that ended on Sunday.

  "Terrorism, splittism and extremism have already become plagues that do harm to human society. We strongly condemn and oppose all forms of terrorism," the declaration added.

  "Double standards should not be practiced and the fight against terrorism must not be linked with any particular ethnic group or religion," it said.

  As for the environment for Asia's development, the declaration said "maintaining the momentum of development requires the region's security and stability."

  In recent years, the overall situation in Asia has been stable and its main trend has been toward peace, development and cooperation. However, traditional and non-traditional security issues have become intertwined, and both new and old hot spots are still affecting the peace and tranquillity of some countries and regions, the declaration said. 

  "We applaud the efforts Asian countries and political parties have made to peacefully resolve regional conflicts and crises, and advocate turning areas of disputes into areas of cooperation," the declaration noted.

  Over 350 delegates of 81 political parties and organizations from 35 countries participated in the conference.

  The theme of the third ICAPP meeting is "Exchange, Cooperation and Development," and major topics include regional security and multilateral cooperation, economic growth and social progress, political party building and the national development.

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