Spain shares experience with Jordan in fighting cybercrime

AMMAN — Cybercrime is a relatively new type of felony and requires cooperation and information sharing among countries to fight it, Spanish and Jordanian officials said on Thursday.

Spanish Ambassador to Jordan Santiago Cabanas Ansorena said both Jordan and Spain, along with other countries of the Mediterranean, face the same challenges; thus, bilateral cooperation is important.

Topping these challenges, according to the envoy, are security and economy related issues.

Confronting these challenges requires bolstering international relations, he explained, noting that security cooperation is very strong between Amman and Madrid, and both countries are involved in fighting terrorism and preventing infiltrations.

“We are committed to looking for solutions to fight crime, human trafficking, money laundering and financial crimes,” the diplomat said at the closing of a five-day workshop organised by the Public Security Department (PSD) and supported by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation
(AECID) through its
MASAR programme.

The MASAR “Path” programme is an AECID project aimed at supporting democratic governance processes in the Arab world.

Addressing participants, Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Abu Juma, assistant deputy PSD director for judicial police, said in line with the current national and regional developments, the PSD has developed mechanisms related to fighting this type of crime, appointing qualified employees and making available the latest technology needed for this purpose.

Noting that crimes no longer stop at geographical borders, Abu Juma stressed the need for international cooperation.

Representatives from Ministry of Justice, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Central Bank of Jordan’s anti-money laundering unit, the General Intelligence Department and the PSD took part in the five-day workshop, according to Pedro Herrera, interior attaché at the Spanish embassy in Amman. 

“In this week we explained to participants our system, but we are fully aware that Jordan is not Spain” and what works in Madrid might not work in Amman, Herrera told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of the event.

He said Jordan has qualified security forces and “we have very close cooperation.”

In 2011, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in all issues related to fighting crime, according to the diplomat.

Although the political situation in Jordan and Spain is different, the training is a kind of information sharing, Herrera added, noting that this was the second workshop, and the first was held last year.

“In the near future we will organise a study tour for them to Spain,” he said, stressing that fighting crime and corruption is a priority for his country, especially after the economic crisis.

“We are increasing our base in fighting this phenomenon.”