 Excellencies, generals, heads of police forces, distinguished representatives from the United Nations and partner international organisations, all protocol observed, ladies and gentlemen, a very good morning. It's a pleasure to be standing here in the prestigious Australian Parliament House in Canberra addressing such a distinguished gathering. Allow me to first recognise the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Department of Defence for their wonderful hospitality and immense effort which allowed this important forum to happen. As I speak, I see before me astonishing diversity in terms of expertise, working cultures, regions and nations. Yet a single goal brought us together, stopping terrorists from harming those we have all sworn to protect by combating one of its weapons of choice. One we have seen deployed just as lethally in too many battlefields and too many of our streets, improvised explosive devices. In my opening remarks, I intend to cover three main aspects. First, why Interpol perceives the terrorist threat and the IED threat in particular as demanding, urgent, decisive and coordinated international action. Second, how Interpol has been and will be assisting member countries in that action. And finally, why this forum is a unique first step in taking our respective determination and efforts and aligning them to achieve maximum impact in the field worldwide. Indeed, the terrorist threat is more eminent and complex than ever. We see conflict zones around the globe proliferate, expand and even more alarmingly establish links between each other. Multiple fronts are available to transnational groups to strike, gain visibility and attract recruits worldwide. The result is a landscape where approximately 25,000 foreign terrorist fighters have travelled to join groups such as ISIL from more than 100 countries. Where terrorist propaganda can reach literally any connected individual in the world by a single click or swipe. Where self-radicalization and lone wolves have turned from theory into action within our communities, as the events of Sydney reminded us last December. Furthermore, more and more groups from Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa to Southeast Asia are shifting allegiance to mimic this model. In parallel, the potential seed of independent terrorist cells lacking command and control structures is rooted in returnees able to bring deadly skills back to their countries. In short, the terrorist threat is becoming better concealed, more internationally mobile and deadlier. Unsurprisingly, these attributes are reflected in the weapons chosen by terror to strike. IEDs are a case in point. Images of crowded market, security establishment or a peaceful demonstration in the aftermath of an IED blast have unfortunately become part of almost every day's news. Egypt, Thailand, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Philippines, Turkey, Indonesia, Iraq, Chad, Kuwait, Cameroon, Afghanistan, the list of recent attacks is too long. Demonstrating of the global scale of the issue. Terrorist groups scattered across different regions employ quasi-identical modus operandi in their IED attacks. This points to one conclusion. Experienced terrorists are crossing borders and so is their ability to spread their know-how thanks to the nexus to the rise of the foreign terrorist fighters phenomena and easy access to knowledge through the internet. More disturbingly, we see them refine their tactics. In select cases, toxic chemical chlorine was employed in IED attacks, elevating the magnitude of the threat to unprecedented new levels. Honorable Ministers, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, against this backdrop, I believe that urgent international action is needed and I believe it must stem from close cooperation among national security and law enforcement agencies across silos and national borders. A key precondition to this is the existence of a neutral, trusted global platform allowing for such agencies to come together, share intelligence and coordinate action with both security and flexibility and without ever losing control over their information. That platform was conceived almost a century ago when Interpol first came to life and today Interpol offers a global architecture supporting capacities on a local level with our 190 national central bureaus on a regional level with our seven regional bureaus and with a global perspective 24 hours a day and seven days a week thanks to our three command and coordination centers in Lyon, in Buenos Aires and in Singapore. With a terrorist threat reaching unprecedented heights, the operational value of this platform prompted the United Nations Security Council to identify it as the global channel for information sharing against foreign terrorist fighters, the already mentioned resolution 2178. We have since actively engaged member countries to forge the trust needed for data to flow internationally. At the end of 2014, identifiers on 1000 foreign fighters had been shared via Interpol, a figure destined to reach 4000 less than a year later. Yet no matter how large the volume of data in our possession, in order to make a difference, it will still need to be made available to the right officer at the right place and at the right moment. This points to the fundamental importance of building capacity worldwide to ensure access to Interpol's network to the front lines. I'm referring to tools such as Interpol Alerts known as notices and diffusions, flagging suspected terrorists when in transit or Interpol's stolen and lost travel document database allowing the screening of passengers who may be carrying revoked or fraudulently obtained passports. These and other Interpol tools can be integrated into national border control systems, placing key information at the fingertips of immigration officials. And of course, the best strategy to maximize their impact is their systematic use as recognized by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the Global Counterterrorism Forum. I was also extremely pleased with a recent announcement by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jay Johnson on the plan to require the use of Interpol SLTD database to screen travelers crossing the borders of countries members of the United States visa waiver program. Indeed, information sharing, capacity building and the systematic deployment of that capacity in the field constitute the cornerstone of Interpol's model. This applies to Interpol's efforts with regard to the specific threat of IEDs. Since 2012, our Chemical and Explosives Terrorism Prevention Unit has been offering a comprehensive support package to assist police in member countries worldwide, prevent and respond to the malicious use of chemicals and explosive materials. An example is the Chemical Anti-Smuggling Enforcement Program, or CHASE, a global effort to counter the international smuggling of chemical precursors used in the manufacture of explosives and IEDs. With both its training and operational elements, CHASE increases the capacity of police as well as customs, immigration and border security agencies to work both within and across borders in a multi-agency fashion. On the information sharing side, in early 2015 Interpol also launched the Watchmaker Initiative. Project Watchmaker provides operational and specialized support to all 190 member countries through the issuing of Interpol notices and warning messages on individuals known to manufacture or employ IEDs. Under the Watchmaker Initiative, Interpol has so far issued over 600 notices including almost 300 red notices for wanted person involved in IED incidents and 71 Interpol United Nations Security Council special notices related to individuals targeted by UN Security Council sanctions regimes. In parallel Interpol purple and orange notices focused on modus operandi and objects presenting imminent threat to public safety are issued to share technical information on IEDs based on information directly provided and updated by member countries authorities. Finally over the past years Interpol has also been supporting diplomatic action in the fight against IEDs by representing the global law enforcement community within the framework of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and its group of experts focused on protocol 2 in particular. Ladies and gentlemen, out of these efforts there are several key lessons drawn by Interpol which I believe are at the core of our gathering here today. First that invaluable experience and intelligence is readily available today. Thanks to the dedication of those at the front lines of counter IED efforts and thanks to you you're the leaders. Second that to achieve the ultimate goal of preventing terrorists from using IEDs against your nations this information must be mobilized effectively and systematically. Law enforcement and border security agencies must be alerted to the transnational movement of bomb makers enabling action to be undertaken as most appropriate. Let me provide you with a real life example the conviction last May of Anis Abidzadar a London cab driver with a pass in the manufacturing of IEDs targeting US forces in Iraq in 2007. Two months after that attack Sardar's fingerprints were taken as he re-entered the United Kingdom via Heathrow Airport. Seven years later FBI officials matched those same fingerprints onto other bombs that were recovered from the 2007 IED attacks. Such is the power of information sharing. Yet this is only one example of what we could achieve together by synchronizing the efforts of civilian law enforcement, military and diplomatic channels to comprehensive global response to the IED threat. I believe the potential is even greater. A general consensus exists on the lack of a global coordination framework aligning the efforts of national and international stakeholders worldwide against the IED threat. Indeed a single holistic strategic framework is still needed to apply the whole of government approach to this challenge. This is why we are gathered here today to help bridge this gap between civilian law enforcement and military communities and to forge new links between counter IED and counter terrorism efforts worldwide. Ladies and gentlemen, let an ambitious vision guide us through this event. Not only to identify those responsible for the next blast, not only to make sure they are located and brought to justice, but most importantly to successfully prevent another attack through intercepting the components necessary to build yet another IED. Finally I would like to take this opportunity to commend the exceptional partnership between Interpol, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Department of Defense that this forum showcases by excellence. I wish you the best of luck during the next few days and I look forward to witnessing the fruitful outcomes of this leader's forum. Thank you very much.