The INTERPOL 15th MENA Working Group Meeting on Cybercrime for Heads of Units was held in Doha, Qatar, from 29 to 30 September 2025. The event was hosted by the Qatari Ministry of Interior and its National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) while the CyberSouth+ joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe facilitated the participation of delegations from its priority countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine* and Tunisia.
The national delegations included Heads of Cybercrime Units, investigators and CERT professionals. While the investigators and CERT staff took part in a specialised technical training on ransomware and scenario-based exercises delivered by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Heads of Units engaged in strategic sessions and regional panels focused on enhancing regional cooperation against cybercrime.
On this occasion, an operational meeting kickstarted the first joint regional operation aimed at enhancing coordinated investigative responses to cybercrime. The meeting was an opportunity for the participants to enhance their knowledge on handling cybercrime investigations and to engage in regional cooperation on cybercrime and electronic evidence.
The CyberSouth+ project will continue to support the countries from the MENA region to engage in operational cooperation in cybercrime cases and to share their best practices with other partners in the region.
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* This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of Council of Europe and European Union member States on this issue
Cybercrime Progamme Office of the Council of Europe (C-PROC)