Guyana to host major Interpol Conference next year – President Ali

President Dr Irfaan Ali has announced that Guyana will be hosting major regional and international conferences including the International Criminal Police Organization’s (Interpol’s) Americas Regional Conference in 2026 – something which he noted is as a result of the massive investments made to enhance the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and law enforcement in the country.

“We’re investing in the best technology, the best assets and then soon, this year, we’ll have the annual Commissioners of Police Officers’ Conference… And then next year, we will have the Interpol Annual Conference in Guyana.”

“This is not by accident. The global system must have had to see the improvement; they must have had to have confidence in our system before they made these decisions,” President Ali said at the opening of the Guyana Police Force’s Annual Officers’ Conference on Wednesday.

The four-day event is being held under the theme: “Building a resilience and contemporary police force; strengthening accountability, innovation and partnership for a safer community.”

According to President Ali, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, partnership and collaboration – at the national, regional and international levels – are key to the development and future of the GPF.

In addition to partners across the Caribbean, Guyana already has strong cooperation with the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), India, Brazil, Canada, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“Right now, we’re partnering with the New York Police Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. We’re also collaborating with key international institutions to develop our capacity and develop strategies to deal with gender-based violence or responsiveness, to enhance our capacity in homicide investigation and in this regard, we’re now partnering with the National Forensic Science University in India to develop our forensic capacity and capacity – not only for Guyana, but it will be a forensic lab and a forensic ecosystem to support all of the region.”

The Head of State noted that this state-of-the-art facility will see international experts coming here to manage it for the first three years during which they will transfer knowledge and technology to locals.

Meanwhile, the Interpol Conference brings together senior police officials from member countries to share expertise and best practices. Interpol is the world’s largest police organisation, with 196 member countries.