The joint workshop organized by the Arab League in cooperation with the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) commenced Wednesday, with participation from representatives of Arab justice ministries and European legal experts.

In his opening remarks, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of Legal Affairs Ambassador Mohamed Amin Weld Akeik emphasized that achieving criminal justice requires genuine political will, warning that persistent impunity undermines public trust. He stressed that criminal justice must not become "a selective tool sometimes applied and sometimes ignored, targeting certain peoples while turning a blind eye to real perpetrators."

Weld Akeik highlighted the Arab League's "significant expertise" accumulated through years of joint work with European partners, technical secretariats, and Arab justice ministers - enabling the organization to keep pace with international developments, benefit from best practices, and exchange Arab-European experiences while remaining open to comparative international models.

He underscored the importance of periodic joint evaluation of this ambitious initiative to enhance its impact, particularly given emerging challenges in combating organized crime, terrorism, and cybercrime.

Eurojust Vice-President José de la Mata affirmed the importance of strengthening EU-Arab cooperation through the Arab League in exchanging expertise, information, and experiences to confront cross-border criminal networks. "We operate under the motto 'We are stronger together' in legal cooperation against criminals and transnational organizations committing global crimes through cyber fraud," he stated, emphasizing the need for joint Arab-European investigations and prosecutions.

The two-day workshop will discuss:

• Enhancing international judicial cooperation

• Combating organized crime

• Information and expertise exchange in criminal justice

• Emerging legal challenges from rapid technological developments