The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, and the RUC Chief Constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, were joint hosts yesterday at the opening of an international policing conference held in conjunction with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The five-day conference, which is being held in both Dublin and Belfast, is the FBI National Academy Associates/European Chapter Retraining Session.
Under an initiative set up in 1972, the FBI invites police forces from around the world to participate in a training programme at the FBI academy in Quantico, Virginia.
The programme includes an 11-week course in police leadership and management skills. The programme is also designed to allow senior officers to compare procedures and policy on policing matters.
Eleven members of the Garda Siochana have completed the programme.
The conference was officially opened yesterday in Jury's Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin, by the Minister of State for Health and Children, Justice and Education, Ms Mary Hanafin.
Among the international guests was the director of the FBI, Mr Louis Freeh, the US ambassador to Ireland, Mr Michael Sullivan, and the US ambassador to the UK, Mr Philip Lader.