Day One

WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU – 25th-27th APRIL 2023

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Tuesday 25th April 2023

8:30am – Site Visits – Airport / Land Border
9.30am – AU-ECOSOCC / African Young People Support Centre Workshop

1:30pm-3:30pm
MINISTERIAL OPENING, WELCOME AND KEYNOTE

– Oliver Spasovski, Minister of Interior, North Macedonia
– Sašo Smileski, Head of Border Police/Assistant-Director for Border Affairs and Migration, Ministry of Interior, North Macedonia
– Vladimir Pivovarov, National Coordinator for Integrated Border Management, National Coordinative Center for Intergrated Border Management, North Macedonia
– Dennis Cosgrove, Head of TransNational Threats Department, Organization for Security & Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
– Donatella Bradic, IOM Senior Programme Coordinator for the Western Balkans, IOM Skopje
– Sasko Kocev, Director, MARRI RC
– Willem Mudde, Vice President, European Association of Airport & Seaport Police (EAASP)

3:30pm-4:00pm – Networking Coffee Break

4:00pm – 5.30pm
Plenary Session – The threat posed by terrorists and organised criminal groups and their smuggling networks

The links between terrorist groups and organised criminal groups is well known. Both groups utilise many of the same networks and methods to traffic people, weapons (SALW) and drugs, either for financial gain and /or to achieve their political objectives. It is therefore not a great leap of credulity to imagine these channels being used to traffic CBRNe equipment and materials for use as WMD’s. So, identifying and closing down these channels is of critical importance for our citizens health and safety.

– Jonathan H. Lewin, Executive Officer for Operations, INTERPOL Washington

– Cristian Fanelli, Law Enforcement Expert – AIRCOP – Border Management Branch & Tofiq Murshudlu, Head of Coordination, Border Management Branch, UNODC

Khat Importation to the UK and European Union – Clare Marr, Immigration Liaison Officer, Home Office International Operations, UK

– Major General John Ochai, Director of Special Research in the Nigerian Armed Forces

Illegal Migration and Human Trafficking as Sources of Funds for Financing of Terrorism – Zlate Dimovski, Professor, Faculty of security- Skopje

Addressing the Profound and Enduring Impacts of Weapons Trafficking in post-Ukraine Conflict Europe – Bethany Banks, Independent Expert, Owens Banks Consulting