Rome  – Justice and home-affairs ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) were set Saturday to discuss ways to make cities safer from the threat posed by international terrorism.

Following the final session of their two-day meeting, ministers from the G8, which consists of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia, were expected to issue a final declaration.

On Friday they agreed to bolster measures aimed at seizing cross-border assets held by organized crime syndicates such as the mafia and also discussed strategies to combat child-pornography and human trafficking.

Proposals contained in the final declaration will be presented at the main G8 leaders’ summit, which is scheduled to take place in July in L’Aquila, Italy.

Other participants at the two-day meeting, which is being held under strict security at a police training school, include EU Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Jacques Barrot, as well as international security officials from Interpol and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Italy’s government, which currently holds the G8 presidency, has made the fight against illegal immigration one if its top priorities, introducing controversial measures such as the deportation of migrants intercepted in international waters.

On Friday several dozen pro-immigration and anti-globalization demonstrators staged protests in Rome against the G8 meeting, including an attempt to occupy the Basilica of St Mary Major church. Police managed to prevent the occupation.

Activists plan a march through the streets of the Italian capital on Saturday afternoon. (dpa)