29 Aug 2005

Immigration directors meet in Fiji

10:19 am on 29 August 2005

A regional body dealing with immigration issues says it's concerned about people moving to the US through the Pacific illegally.

The Pacific Immigration Directors' Conference will open its annual meeting in Fiji tomorrow to coordinate efforts aimed at curbing people smuggling and human trafficking.

The organisation's secretary, Matthew Gibbs, says delegates from 17 countries will discuss moves to strengthen border security.

"There are people moving from various parts of the world and there is indication that they move through the Pacific region often to other parts of the world. There is indication to suggest America, Canada and countries such as these."

The PIDC's secretary, Matthew Gibbs, says the issue of regional collaboration with customs and police is on the agenda.

The conference certainly involoves instances of discussions about people smuggling and human trafficking. More than its number of instances, our role in this conference is to discuss ways in which we can meet that threat and strenghten border security so that we can reduce the instances of people smuggling and human trafficking.