Syria's Minister of the Interior Major-General Bassam Abdul Majeed (right) with INTERPOL's Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

Director of the Syrian Criminal Security Department, Major General Mohammed Ali Saleh (right) and INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble answer questions at a press conference. The head of INTERPOL'S National Central Bureau in Damascus, Colonel Hisham Tinawi. INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble discusses policing issues with Head of NCB Damascus, Colonel Hisham Tinawi.

DAMASCUS , Syria – Enhancing global police co-operation through increased use of INTERPOL’s policing tools is among the issues to be discussed at a meeting between INTERPOL Secretary General and the Syrian Minister of the Interior tomorrow.

During his three-day mission to Damascus, Secretary General Noble will meet with a number of high level representatives from the Syrian Police and judicial authorities, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Director of the Criminal Security Department.

“This is the first time that an INTERPOL Secretary General has visited Syria and we look forward to this opportunity for Syria and INTERPOL to discuss co-operation on important policing issues,” said Minister of the Interior, Major General Bassam Abdelmajid.

Also on the agenda is the Secretary General's proposal to create an INTERPOL Sub-Regional Bureau for North Africa and the Middle East to help enhance communication and information-sharing on a regional and international level.

“We see on a daily basis at the INTERPOL General Secretariat, that when police from different countries are given the opportunity to work side by side and to have direct personal contact with one another, great results can be achieved,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

“This is why the creation of a Sub-Regional Bureau for North Africa and the Middle East would have a significant positive global impact on security, especially at a time when police worldwide need to work more closely together to combat the threat of transnational crime and terrorism.”

Syria is currently in the process of expanding access to I-24/7 beyond the National Central Bureau in Damascus, which would provide police with instant access to a range of vital policing tools, including the Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database which currently contains nearly 14 million documents from 131 countries.

Such access will permit law enforcement officers in the field to instantly verify whether a person is travelling in a stolen car or if they are wanted internationally.

During his mission, in addition to meeting with staff at INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau in Damascus, Secretary General Noble will also visit Syria’s special unit for Combating Terrorism and the Criminal Security Department.

Director of the Syrian Criminal Security Department, Major General Mohammed Ali Saleh (third from right) hosted INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble's visit to the facility.

Mr Noble meets staff at NCB Damascus.