Hello and welcome to the 2020 Southeast Asia Workshop on Border Security and Law Enforcement.  My name is Sam Pineda and I am the Director of the Office of Programs in the Bureau of Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State. 

 

The Bureau of Counterterrorism uses its foreign assistance resources to help our key partners’ build capacity to prevent and respond to the terrorism threats facing their countries.  

 

One of our main goals is to expand access to I-24/7; INTERPOL’s secure, global police-to-police communications system, and integrate it with the traveler screening systems of our ASEAN partners to help prevent terrorist travel. 

 

As you’ll hear later in this video, the State Department works with INTERPOL Washington, the INTERPOL General Secretariat, and the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia to deploy screening solutions.  These tools enable law enforcement and improve security in Indonesia and Malaysia.  They also represent an important step in our collective support for UN Security Council Resolution 2396 where we all have committed to eliminate travel by foreign terrorist fighters.

 

We are very fortunate to have an outstanding implementing partner in INTERPOL Washington. The technical expertise, dedication, and level of professionalism their team brought to this project over the past five years is extraordinary. 

 

Based on the exceptional progress and partnerships in the region, last month, the Bureau of Counterterrorism awarded additional funding to INTERPOL Washington to continue this project.  We are looking forward to working closely with all of you to integrate I-24/7 into additional ports of entry and enhance the use of INTERPOL tools to prevent terrorist travel.

 

On behalf of the United States of America, I would also like to thank the Republic of Indonesia for offering to host this workshop on the beautiful island of Bali. We greatly appreciate your generosity, support, and continued partnership in this project as we build a more a secure world, together.  Thank you. 

 

Finally, a special thanks to the workshop participants.  We look forward to the day when we can all meet together in person.  Until that time, I wish you and your families’ health, and safety.