The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) is seeking strong cooperation with African security agencies to respond to transnational organized crime more effectively, Jurgen Stock, secretary general of Interpol, said Tuesday.

Speaking at the 24th Interpol African Regional conference in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda, Stock said that combating transnational crimes including human, drug and arms trafficking, cyber crimes, terrorism and car theft needs strong cooperation between Interpol and African security agencies.

"Africa, like every region in the world, is facing complex terrorism and organized crime threats, so making sure that the police on the ground have access to data when and where they need it, is critical," said Stock.

The three-day meeting aims at joint strategies to tackle common and emerging crime issues across Africa.

Speaking at the meeting, Rwandan Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente said that his country is committed to partnering with Interpol in its efforts to assist police in Africa to adopt proactive strategies to combat organized crime threats.

To stop and prevent organized crime threats, there is an urgent need for strong cooperation and comprehensive anti-crimes strategies among all countries, he said.

"No single country can alone win this struggle. We need much stronger regional and international cooperation," Ngirente added.

The meeting that runs through Thursday has brought together close to 300 delegates, including 158 chiefs of police and senior law enforcement officials from 42 countries within Africa and beyond.

Established in 1962, the African regional conference takes place every two years in order to assess the state of police cooperation and the fight against transnational crime.

Interpol is an international organization that facilitates international police cooperation in adopting proactive strategies to combat organized crime threats, facilitate information exchange and improve their investigative skills. 

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