In this task, a passage will be given and the goal is to identify an event from the passage. An event is defined as a single word representing something that happened, is happening, or may happen. An event can be factual or hypothetical, positive or negative, certain or uncertain. While most events are based on verbs, an event can also be based on a noun (ex. storm, snow, rainfall) or a copula verb (is, was, been, etc.). The event must not be a pronoun or an adjective. For noun events with multiple words, use the last word in the phrase as event.
Example: Passage: I submitted the hit. The hit was approved, and then I was paid.
Example solution: approved
Example explanation: There are three events in this passage (i) submission event ("submitted") (ii) the approval event ("approved"), and (iii) the payment event ("paid"). You can use any one of them as an output.

Problem: Passage: The ministers expressed the concern the threat that the highly pathogenic avian influenza posed to the Asia-Pacific region as well as to the world, said the statement. "They agreed it was critical to ensure that APEC was prepared for and had the capacity to effectively respond to infectious diseases at the individual, regional and international levels," said the statement.

Solution: expressed