HONOLULU, HAWAII – Top government leaders, senior business executives, and
security, technology and anti-terrorism experts will convene in Hawaii for
the 2009 Asia-Pacific Homeland Security Summit & Exposition starting next
week, Nov. 9th and 10th, at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.
This year’s theme is Securing Population Centers presented by the State of
Hawaii. The conference will focus on present and future capabilities
necessary to protect population centers. Using the November 26, 2008 Mumbai
terrorist attack as the starting point, speakers and panels will examine
successes and mistakes, challenges and requirements when dealing with a
multi-level terrorist attack. Attendees will discuss opportunities for
partnerships in the business, government and non-profit sectors, necessary
for an effective tiered response.
This year, there will be over 250 attendees representing 10 countries. There
are several important speakers on the agenda:
Terrorism Update: by Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, author of “Inside al-Qaida” and the
head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism
Research (Singapore)
*Terrorist Attack on Mumbai (November 26, 2008) and Its Implications for Urban
Centers: by
*Mr. Vappala Balachandran, Retired Special Secretary at the Research and
Analysis Wing, India’s external intelligence agency
*Fighting Terrorism with Financial Weapons: by Mr. Zvi Chalamish, Consul and
Chief Fiscal Officer of Israel’s Ministry of Finance for North America
(Israel)
*Protecting Soft Targets – Mitigating the Threat to Hotels: by Mr. Alan Orlob,
Vice President – Corporate Security & Loss Prevention, Marriott International
Lodging
The final panel of homeland security experts will include predictions and
trends to watch.
Moderator: Major General Robert Lee, Adjutant General, State of Hawaii,
Department of Defense
Panelists include: Admiral Robert Willard, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command,
Dr. Rohan Gunaratna and Mr. Vappala Balachandran
The Summit has become the region’s most up-to-date and relevant forum for
developing solutions to public and private sector security threats in the
Asia-Pacific area. Sessions are designed to maximize participant interaction,
stimulate new ideas and innovative approaches through keynote addresses,
plenary forums and roundtable discussions.
On November 10th, a Community Response Exercise scenario will incorporate
topics presented during the Summit’s plenary and concurrent sessions,
coordinated by the Hawaii State Civil Defense.
Complete details about the Seventh Annual Asia-Pacific Homeland Security
Summit & Exposition are available online at: https://www.hngvso.org/. The
Exhibit Hall is open to the public on Tuesday from 9:00 am – 11:00 am.
‘Lorinda Wong-Lau is the APHSS Conference Coordinator for the HI State Department of Defense’