Justice and foreign ministers from more than 60 countries joined with senior police personnel from more than 153 countries for the meetings.

The statement said the participants endorsed a declaration to "chart a plan of action" over the next year for greater police involvement in global peacekeeping.

Following that, the first-ever leaders' summit on the role of the police in peacekeeping will be held, it said.

They also agreed to "work towards developing consensus for an international policing doctrine in post-conflict environments."

The move comes amid a rising demand for police personnel in U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Alain LeRoy, undersecretary of the U.N.'s peacekeeping operations, told reporters the number of police personnel involved in U.N. peacekeeping activities worldwide has surged from 6,000 in 2005 to 12,500 now and is expected to increase to 15,000 within three months.

The United Nations is currently involved in 15 peacekeeping operations, he added.

Singapore's Commissioner of Police Khoo Boon Hui, current president of Interpol, told a press conference that "criminal activities such as drugs and arms trafficking fuel wars by providing the belligerents with the resources to finance their military activities. Past conflicts have clearly shown that those that are not fed with criminal profits tend to end sooner."

"Countries recovering from conflicts need to secure their borders to maintain peace. All this requires a foundation of competent and non- corrupt police officers dedicated to consolidating peace and rebuilding the rule of law," he said.

On Sunday, Interpol and the U.N. peacekeeping operations department signed a supplementary agreement to intensify cooperation following a main agreement reached in 2007.

"What Interpol is going to do is provide technical assistance, support, advice and consulting services in areas of policing during peacekeeping operations," said Joel Sollier, director for legal affairs at Interpol.

Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said, "Serious organized crimes can aggravate conflicts."

The peacekeeping meeting is being held in conjunction with the Interpol general assembly in Singapore from Tuesday until Thursday.