"Corruption is prevalent all over the world. In many cases, nations manage to repatriate corrupt fugitives to their home countries because of the support gained from officers in the respective countries," said KPK`s Vice Chairman Adnan Pandu Praja on Monday, after a meeting with 21 APEC countries.
He said Indonesia had recently proposed the establishment of a forum that will enable related officers from APEC countries to look into corruption in detail.
According to Adnan, the fight against corruption is usually carried out on a bilateral basis. With the establishment of an anti-corruption forum in APEC, issues pertaining to corruption can be discussed at a multilateral level.
"APEC`s anti-corruption forum will support the region`s efforts to fight corruption," he added.
Meanwhile, the Director of International Cooperation at KPK, Sujanarko, said there are several challenges when it comes to handling corruption cases that involve more than two countries.
"These issues can be solved by having a thorough discussion with APEC members," he said.
APEC`s Senior Officials` Meeting (SOM) is being held here from January 25 to February 7, 2013.
This year, Indonesia will be hosting the APEC Summit. This is the second time that Indonesia will be hosting the APEC Summit, after 1994.
APEC`s primary purpose is to facilitate economic growth and prosperity in the region, with the vision of creating a seamless regional economy.
The idea of APEC was publicly broached by the former Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke, in a speech in Seoul, South Korea, in January 1989.
Later that year, 12 Asia-Pacific countries met in Canberra, Australia, to establish the APEC. The founding members of APEC are: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States.
China, Hong Kong, and Chinese Taipei joined APEC in 1991. Mexico and Papua New Guinea joined APEC in 1993. Chile joined in 1994. In 1998, Peru, Russia and Vietnam joined APEC, increasing the number of members to 21.
After the APEC Summit in Bali in October 2013, China will organise the APEC Leaders Meeting in 2014. Then, the Philippines will organise the meeting in 2015, followed by Peru in 2016 and Malaysia in 2020.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
