Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho was part of Fiji’s delegation to the 'International Criminal Police Organization's 87th General Assembly' that took part in the final and closing day of the 4‑day annual meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

This year's Assembly voted in favor of our Pacific neighbors Kiribati and Vanuatu as INTERPOL's new member countries taking the policing body total to 194

In their respective national acceptance speeches, Kiribati and Vanuatu's head of delegations commended the Fiji Police Force for its assistance over the years through the provision of capacity building courses, training and recruitment exercises and other policing cooperation.

Kiribati and Vanuatu will each now establish their National Central Bureau where they can share and receive vital policing information from around the world across a range of crime areas and criminal activities.

The Assembly discussed and passed resolutions on innovation in law‑enforcement, challenges faced from cyber‑crime, terrorism and counter‑terrorism, sharing of criminal data and human trafficking.

The evolution of technology and how it can be used by law enforcement as a tool to address these challenges was also one of the key issues of discussion.

In other elections of INTERPOL's governing body; Kim Jong Yang of the Republic of Korea was elected as the new President while Nesta Roncaglia of Argentina was elected as the new Vice‑President.

Africa's Delegate, Destino Pedro of Angola, America’s Delegate, Gillies Michaud of Canada, Asia‑Pacific's Delegates, Dr. Ahmed Naseer Al‑Raisi of the United Arab Emirates and Noboru Nakatani of Japan and Europe's Delegate, Jannine Van Den Berg of the Netherlands, were all elected as new members of the Organization's Executive Committee.

The next INTERPOL General Assembly will be held in Chile.