 It's a pleasure to welcome you to Interpol's headquarters for the third meeting of the Legislation Experts Group convened by Interpol's project Stadia. It is very encouraging to see participation from a range of different regions including the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. I thank you all and in particular the State of Qatar for your support to Interpol's work and to this very important project. For international policing to effectively confront today's numerous challenges, it must not only stay up to date with the threats it faces, it must also pool together a diversified range of expertise. This global multifaceted approach is imperative for striving towards a safer world. As you are aware, Project Stadia is a 10-year project funded by Qatar to develop a centre of excellence in policing and security for sporting events. The project supports Qatar's preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and other Interpol member countries in preparing for major sporting events. This experts group meeting is taking place in a rapidly and constantly changing international context marked by a multitude of new and evolving security concerns. From international terrorism to organised crime or crimes committed in or facilitated by cyberspace, our communities face an array of threats that we are collectively responsible for countering. These security threats are also directly relevant to major sporting events. In July 2010 in Kampala, Uganda we all remember as crowds gathered at two designated locations to watch the FIFA World Cup. Two bombs went off, leaving scores wounded and dead. More recently we saw much criminal activity in the lead-up to and during this year's Olympics in Brazil. These plots were disrupted immediately prior to the event, while opportunistic and organised criminals act targeting a range of participants also required, significant focus by the Brazilian authorities. This also included significant law enforcement attention to cyber security threats. In France during the Euro 2016 football tournament we witnessed shocking incidents of football violence. The murder of a French police officer and his wife in their home by an attacker who encouraged mass casualty attacks directly against the tournament and we received information on numerous incidents of prohibited items and weapons carried into stadiums. I am pleased to see our Brazilian and French colleagues here today to share their experience with us and provide us with an opportunity to learn from them. This is a concrete example of the value of Interpol and Project Stadia which is to connect police around the world to face common challenges. Recent experience demonstrates the significant challenges host countries face in securing major sporting events. To face them we must continually engage in forums such as this one to share experiences, identify good practices and opportunities for improvement. We must create networks of support between policing and security authorities responsible for delivering major sporting events. Project Stadia leads on this internationally by providing opportunities for experts in the field to share, debate and find solutions for contemporary major sporting events issues and challenges. The focus of this experts group is legislation and appropriate legislative frameworks for supporting policing and security strategies at major sporting events. Appropriate legislation provides law enforcement authorities with the powers they need to ensure the safety and security of all those involved with a major sporting event. Let me give an example from Interpol's history of how important your viewpoints are for international police cooperation. Over 100 years ago in 1914 the first international criminal police congress was held not very far away from here in Monaco. At this event where the idea of Interpol was first born police officers, lawyers and magistrates from participating countries met to discuss arrest procedures, identification techniques, centralized international criminal records and extradition proceedings. Like in 1914 the role of legislation is extremely important in working towards not only a safer world but a just one. I'm aware that many of the experts here are also participated at the last experts group meeting. It was a successful meeting from which arose a number of notable outcomes, one of those being a legislation development plan for major sport events. This document and the next steps for its signing and endorsement are on the agenda of your discussions. While the legislation development plan will be a living document and continue to be revised and updated over the coming years, essential measures must be taken now for building a strong architecture of security tomorrow. Ladies and gentlemen, you are a part of an international effort to ensure the safety and security of innocent lives at major sporting events. It is for such involvement that Interpol is able to better serve and support its member countries. And for this I want to sincerely thank you all. May I also thank Major General Al-Kulayfi for taking out his valuable time to be here with us today. Once again let me extend a warm welcome to all of you at Interpol's General Secretariat while wishing you all the very best for fruitful discussions ahead. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you.