Interpol and SL Police to hold top level conference on counter terrorism

International Police (Interpol) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Police is to hold a top level regional conference in Colombo this week to discuss issues pertaining to countering terrorism and transnational crimes that affect South and Southeast Asia.

Sri Lanka Police will host the three day workshop which will be held under the patronage of the Interpol from Tuesday, August 8 to Thursday, August 10 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).

Senior officers from the respective Police forces of seven countries in the South and Southeast Asian region including India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia and Philippines will take part in the conference.

The conference will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Minister of Law and Order Sagala Ratnayake with Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara tomorrow morning at the BMICH.

Fifty foreign senior officers representing the second level of respective Police forces in the said countries would participate at the event whereas 50 senior officers in the decision making level of the Sri Lanka Police were also expected to attend.

Police Spokesman Superintendent of Police Ruwan Gunasekara told the Daily Mirror that about 200 local Police officers starting from Senior Inspectorate to Senior Government Gazetted officials as well as Deputy Inspector Generals and Senior Deputy Inspector Generals were to take part in inauguration ceremony.

“The visiting investigation officers have excelled in the fields of crime and terrorist investigation, intelligence office, transnational crimes, law enforcement and Police training,” he said.

The motive of the conference is to expand and develop the regional cooperating in countering terrorism and transnational crimes as well as share experiences of each other gain more knowledge.

The Spokesman said this initiative would also enhance the capacities of the Sri Lanka Police force.

The programme was one of the many such international events being held by the Interpol annually and biannually.

It has been sponsored by the Canadian Government and will be successively held following the Interpol’s Global Counter – Nuclear Smuggling Conference held in Lyon, France in January 2016. (Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana and Darshana Sanjeewa)