National authorities from Kenya and Senegal visit security operations in Spain for a better protection of public spaces

To strengthen Ministries/national authorities’ awareness and capacity in the selected partner countries and to protect people and goods in public spaces, the CT Public Spaces project organized a number of visits to police operations dedicated to public spaces protection in Spain, during the months of April, May and June 2022.

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From April 28^th to May 2^nd, a representation of the Kenyan authorities’ -partners of the project- visited a Guardia Civil operation dedicated to CT Public Spaces protection in Spain. The Director from the Kenya National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) and a senior official from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) from Kenya could see, firsthand, how the Spanish Guardia Civil protects civilians in the Moto GP Grand Prix operation in Jerez (Cadiz-Spain). In addition, the Kenyan delegation visited the Intelligence Center for Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) in Spain.

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Likewise, Senegalese authorities as the Chief of Staff from the Intervention and Inter-ministerial Coordination Center for Counter-Terrorism Operations) (CICO-LAT) and representation from the Senegalese National Police General Directorate (SNPGD), the Senegalese National Gendarmerie (GNS) and the Senegalese Embassy in Spain, played a visit to the police operation deployed by the Guardia Civil in the Rocio festivity from June 2^nd to 5^th. During this visit, Senegalese authorities got to meet the Chief of Staff of the Guardia Civil in charge of the protection of citizens in this popular pilgrimage in Huelva province (Spain).

These experiences contribute to achieve important results in terms of cooperation with national authorities, to increase awareness and capability, and also regarding collaboration with law enforcement in partner countries.