The Leading Homeland Security and Counter Terrorism Event in the Asia Pacific Region
Singapore, 26 April 2013 – Global Security Asia 2013 (GSA 2013),the leading Counter Terrorism, Internal State Security, Law Enforcement and Civil Defence Exhibition and Conference in the Asia Pacific, took place at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, Singapore from the 2nd to 4th April 2013. The Event saw a record attendance of over 7000 visitors, exhibitors and delegates from more than 50 countries, making the Event the most successful Show in the GSA Series since its launch in 2005.
GSA 2013 was opened by the Guest of Honour, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was attended by Ambassadors from Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam, VIP’s plus Senior Government Officials from 12 Asia Pacific countries including Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korean, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam.
The Conference opened with a Keynote Address given by Professor Rohan Gunaratna, Head, International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research Singapore who outlined the current and emerging global terrorist threats. He pointed out that “Al Qaeda, Taliban and their associated groups will reconstitute the Afghan sanctuary after the US-led coalition withdrawal in 2014. At best, within a year of the withdrawal, Afghanistan will resemble Syria as it is today. Given their differing geopolitical and strategic interests, Pakistan, Iran, US/EU and Russia/Central Asia will all seek to gain influence in Afghanistan in the months and years ahead.
As Asia’s Premier Homeland Security Event, the GSA 2013 Conference identified likely threats in the future and called upon governments to prepare and develop appropriate responses to these future scenarios. Against a backdrop of current developments in North Korea and the ongoing problems in Iran, coupled with the tier-one threat of terrorism, the assembled international speakers and delegates discussed existing and emerging threats and debated solutions to these new challenges.”
The Organisers were especially delighted that this year’s Conference attracted over 400 delegates from 20 countries together with 42 international speakers from 13 countries. Speakers included an Ambassador who was a former National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, a Director from Interpol plus a Senior Officer from NATO. In addition to these three speakers there were international specialists from Government, academia, security consultants and advisers. The Conference Chairman Professor Andrew Tan, from the University of New South Wales Australia, stated at the opening of the Conference that the assembled speakers would undoubtedly bring a breath of expertise and knowledge to this important international Conference.
In addition to the Conference the three day Exhibition attracted more than 220 companies from 27 countries. Leading bellwether companies included AM General, Cobham, Glock, Rapiscan Systems, NICE Systems and Smiths Detection who showcased their latest technologies and products designed to counter the latest threats.
Andrew Marriott, Managing Director of GSA Exhibitions Pte Ltd, said that “I am very happy that we had such a successful Show this year with over 95% of Exhibitors expressing a high level of satisfaction with their participation and with the quality of the visitors. We will continue to explore ways to further enhance the Event in order to achieve even greater satisfaction and success for our Exhibitors in the future.”
The next GSA Event will again be held in Singapore in 2015 and details of the dates and venue will be announced later. Please note the proceedings of the Conference and Product Workshops will be published shortly on the official website www.globalsecasia.com
