Security vital in event planning, Hawkins says

National

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Authority chief executive officer Chris Hawkins said one of the most important elements about planning any Apec meeting is ensuring that its security is right.
Hawkins told a press conference in Port Moresby yesterday that partnership was vital in delivering such important meetings.
“One thing is, of course, to have the venue set and the meeting rooms but if we don’t have the security safety plan in place then we can’t have a successful meeting,” he said.
“We are working with our partners from around the region and it’s very important that we do so because you never do Apec alone. You need to do that in partnership.
“We’ve had great support from our friends in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Indonesia and we really appreciate that.”
Hawkins said that the first of many Apec meetings is just over a month away and there would be up to 200 meetings between October this year and Nov next year.
Hawkins said the first was a transportation minister’s meeting in October.
“That meeting will take place in Port Moresby and in Alotau, so we will have delegates and ministers going around the country,” he said.
“We will have regional meeting components so we will take Apec delegates and ministers right around the country so they get to see so much of the country.”
In terms of preparations, Hawkins said in Port Moresby the ApecHouse was ahead of schedule.
“The Apec House is couple of weeks ahead of schedule and we are looking forward to the first meeting in October.”