The Hon. Minister for Immigration, National Security and Defence, Timoci Natuva will lead the Fijian delegation to the 83rd INTERPOL General Assembly session to be conducted in Monaco from 3 – 7 November, 2014.
The Minister will be accompanied by the Commissioner of Police, Major General Bernadus Groenewald and three senior officials.
The 83rd INTERPOL General Assembly session will be preceded with the ministerial meeting to be attended by ministers responsible for police in member countries.
The attendance of the Fijian delegation is part of the overall continuous effort by Government and the Fiji Police to engage with the INTERPOL Secretariat and is consistent with Fiji’s Foreign Policy Framework pursued under the 2009 Strategic Framework for Change setting out political, social and economic reforms.
An integral part of these reforms is the modernisation of the Fiji Police Force to effectively address emerging global policing challenges. To achieve these set targets, the organisation needs to improve its capability and capacity in particular improvement to technology and human resources.
External assistance provided through the INTERPOL Secretariat remains vital in realising this intention.
The increased engagement with INTERPOL has resulted in increased bilateral arrangements and cooperation with INTERPOL member countries pursued within the ambit of the INTERPOL.
The following achievements are deemed milestones under this engagement.
1. Recognition of Fiji’s role in regional policing.
2. INTERPOL to use Fiji as its point of regional training deliveries for this region.
3. Secondment of Fiji Police personnel to the INTERPOL Secretariat, Lyon, France.
4. Increased participation of Fiji Police personnel in INTERPOL training programs targeting various policing scope deemed critical to address global policing demands.
5. Convening of the INTERPOL Integrity in Sports Conference for the Oceania Region in Nadi early this year.
6. Establishment of a Centre for Regional Cyber Crime training in Fiji.
7. Increased information sharing under the INTERPOL secure modes of communication.
8. Facilitation of arrests and extradition of international fugitives entering our borders through red alerts communicated from INTERPOL.
Close to 700 Police Chiefs and senior law enforcement officials from 144 countries are expected to attend the 83rd Session of the INTERPOL General Assembly.