Andorra la VellaThe director of the Police Department, Bruno Lasne, and the head of the National Central Office, Sergeant Major Robert Guirao, this week attended the 92nd General Assembly of INTERPOL, which the International Criminal Police Organization held in Glasgow , United Kingdom.
In the course of the Assembly, which is the organization’s governing body and brings together every year all the member countries to share experiences and collaboration strategies, programs to fight crime have been analysed; the use of biometric data, data processing and artificial intelligence have been discussed, and the importance of maintaining alliances and multilateralism in an integrated global security structure has been addressed.
Together with the other heads of INTERPOL and senior officials from around the world, Bruno Lasne and Robert Guirao have actively participated in the decisions that have been taken in the framework of the meeting, which took place between 4 and November 7 One of them, the election of the new Secretary General, Valdecy Urquiza, to replace Jürgen Stock, who ends his second and last term after 10 years at the head of the organization. The Assembly also voted for the new members of the Executive Committee representing the four regions of the organization: Africa, America, Asia and Europe.
These days, the director of the Police and the head of the National Central Office have also held several bilateral meetings and talks with representatives of more than a dozen countries to strengthen ties of cooperation between police forces, one of the main objectives of the organization
In fact, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, claimed during the event’s opening ceremony, the role of international police cooperation in combating organized crime. In this sense, the president of INTERPOL, Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, added that “it is cross-border cooperation that saves lives. It is collective efforts that bring criminals to justice.” Al-Raisi also stated how “crucial is the ability to adapt and innovate” to deal with “the increase in organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism, as well as the challenges posed by climate change and migration challenges”. The Duke of Edinburgh was in charge of closing this year’s General Assembly on Thursday afternoon, thanking “the hard work and dedication of the police”.
INTERPOL was created to help its members fight crime, connecting police forces around the world to share information and join forces in joint operations. Currently 196 countries are part of it. The Andorran Police has been a member since 1987.