The Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz and President of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) Major General Dr. Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi witnessed Wednesday the signing of a Host Country Agreement between Saudi Arabia and INTERPOL for the establishment of a regional office for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The agreement was signed by Ministry of Interior Undersecretary Dr. Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al-Faleh and INTERPOL Secretary-General Jürgen Stock, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The signing followed Prince Abdulaziz’s meeting with the INTERPOL president at the Ministry of Interior, during which they reviewed the organization’s efforts and discussed topics of mutual interest.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister of Interior Dr. Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al-Dawood, Director of Public Security Lieutenant General Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Bassami, Minister’s Office for Studies and Research Director-General Major General Khalid bin Ibrahim Al-Arwan, Legal Affairs and International Cooperation Director-General Ahmad bin Sulaiman Alissa, and Saudi INTERPOL Director-General Brigadier General Abdulmalik Al Saqeeh.
INTERPOL is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control. It is the world’s largest international police organization.
Founded on 7 September 1923, INTERPOL is headquartered in Lyon, France, and has seven regional bureaus worldwide, and a National Central Bureau in all 196 member states.
INTERPOL provides investigative support, expertise and training to law enforcement worldwide, focusing on three major areas of transnational crime: terrorism, cybercrime and organized crime. Its broad mandate covers virtually every kind of crime, including crimes against humanity, child pornography, drug trafficking and production, political corruption, intellectual property infringement, as well as white-collar crime. The agency also facilitates cooperation among national law enforcement institutions through criminal databases and communications networks. Contrary to popular belief, Interpol is itself not a law enforcement agency.
INTERPOL has an annual budget of €142 million ($155 million), most of which comes from annual contributions by member police forces in 181 countries.
Pursuant to its charter, Interpol seeks to remain politically neutral in fulfilling its mandate, and is thus barred from interventions or activities that are political, military, religious, or racial in nature and from involving itself in disputes over such matters. The agency operates in four languages: Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
