2019 Proceedings Report

Summary of Discussion Sessions
Law Enforcement Diplomacy & Defence Industry
Moderator
Mr Cesar Alvarez, Lecturer on Terrorism and
Security Studies, Charles Sturt
University
Speakers
Mr Peter Whowell, Manager
International Strategy, Australian Federal
Police (AFP)
Mr Juan Carlos Pinzón Bueno,
President, ProBogota
Mr Oscar Feliciano, Director,
Criminal Policy and Restorative Justice,
Ministry of Justice
Capt. William Palomino, Director,
Strategic Studies Centre, War College,
Colombia
Partners in Countering all Forms of Crime and
Terrorism
Partnerships are essential to do our job as expressed by participants from both
countries. The history of collaboration between the Australian Federal Police
and the National Police of Colombia, which extends for almost two decades,
has been largely focused on building capacities and sharing information to
combat transnational organised crime. A renewed and expanding focus,
however, is now creating a new environment in which counter-terrorism and
financial crime have been included in both countries’ lines of work.
Participants recognised that Australia and Colombia have long-term common
strategic interests. And even though both countries are geographically distant,
they have multiple aligning points, friends in common and shared approaches
on key issues.
Gen (ret) Alberto José Mejía, Former chief of
the Defence Forces of Colombia &
Ambassador of Colombia to Australia
Mr Levi West, Director Terrorism
and Security Studies, Charles Sturt
University (CSU)
Mr Paul Day, Head of Security
Operations, Qantas Airways
Raúl Gallegos, Director,
Control Risks
The Australia-Colombia Dialogue | September 2019 36