By Richard Galpin BBC Indonesia Correspondent in Bali

Efforts to reduce cross-border crime and illegal immigration in the Asia-Pacific region will be the main topics at a two-day conference on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Ministers from 34 states are due to participate, including Australia which has attracted international criticism in recent months for adopting a hard-line policy towards asylum-seekers and those who try to smuggle them.

Many governments now fear that the people-smugglers may be involved in other criminal activities

This is an unprecedented meeting - never before have so many countries affected by the issue of asylum-seekers, illegal immigrants and people-smuggling gangs come together in search of a solution to this worldwide problem.

The countries represented here include Afghanistan and Iran, from where many of the migrants depart, either through genuine fear of persecution or in search of a better life for themselves and their families.

Iraq, the other major country of origin, has not sent any representatives.

Vote-winner

The primary destination of the migrants is Australia. They pay smuggling gangs thousands of dollars per person to organise the long and hazardous journey by plane and boat via countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

But compared to destinations like Europe and the United States, the number of asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia has never been that high.

Australia has sent many migrants to south Pacific islands

At most, it has been around 4,000 a year. Even so, last summer, Australian Prime Minister John Howard seized upon the issue in the run-up to the election.

In what was clearly a vote-winning policy, he ordered the navy to intercept boats filled with asylum seekers and send them back to Indonesia.

Even those whose boats had sunk were not allowed into Australia after being rescued, being sent instead to small Pacific island nations.

The number of asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia has now dropped sharply.

The terrorist attacks on the United States last September have highlighted another aspect of this issue.

Many governments now fear that the people-smugglers may be involved in other criminal activities, including the transportation of weapons and even suspected terrorists.