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Top government and security officials from around the world gathered in Bahrain for a major two-day security conference.
Key officials from the UN, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) and European Union took part in the second Bahrain Security Forum and Exhibition which took place at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa.
Present at the forum were Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, other members of the Ruling Family and key government personnel.
Interior Minister Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa opened the conference.
An exhibition displaying the latest technological solutions available for border security was also held during the event.
Topics discussed during the conference included human trafficking, methods to combat terrorist financing, global insecurity, enhancing and developing security at national and international levels and border security.
Among those attending were former British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Baroness Elizabeth Symons, Interpol president Khoo Boon Hui, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, GCC Secretary-General Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Attiyah and UN Al Qaeda and Taliban monitoring team co-ordinator Richard Barrett.
Officials from the US, Sweden, Russia, India, Qatar, Pakistan, Romania, Germany, Malaysia, France, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, China and Morocco also attended.
At the opening ceremony Shaikh Rashid said that border control was not the only solution for fighting terrorism.
"Countries in the region should work together and implement common standards to tackle the issue," he said.
"We depend on all countries for co-operation and support but at the same time we demand equal co-operation from others. We can't have an individual country considering terrorists as political refugees or dissidents on the basis of criteria which is not mutually agreed."
Sir Ian said the threat from Al Qaeda had not diminished. "Although Al Qaeda has suffered many reverses and its leaders are in hiding, its inspiration and message remain vibrant and universal not only to those excited by extremism and violence but also to the lonely and the unbalanced."
The conference came at the same time as reports out of the International Defence Exhibition in Abu Dhabi showed regional tensions are fuelling continued military spending by Gulf states despite the global downturn and low oil prices.
"The Middle East market, including the Gulf, remains very viable and credible. There is confidence in their ability to drive on their acquisition schemes," said PT Mikolash, Raytheon Co's Middle East and North Africa chief.
