Australian police establish presence in Turkey, Jordan

An Australian Federal Police (AFP) post has been opened in Turkish capital Ankara and another will be stationed in Jordanian capital Amman, Australia's justice minister announced on Wednesday.

Michael Keenan said an AFP Senior Liaison Officer had been officially posted to the Australian embassy in Ankara, following Turkey's authorization of the deployment in October last year.

Keenan also announced that another AFP Senior Liaison Officer will be permanently hosted in Amman. This officer will be located in the United States Department of Defense facility.

"These liaison officers are already working closely with local and regional law enforcement, building relationships to enhance abilities to share real-time intelligence and evidence in support of domestic and international disruption activities," Keenan said in a statement.

"At a time when our nation is on high terror alert our international partnerships play a vital role in Australia's counter terrorism strategy."

With the Jordan deal, the AFP International Network will have a presence in 29 countries, which Keenan said would further strengthen "Australia's ability to combat the threat posed by foreign fighters".

"These posts solidify the Australian government's commitment to working with international partners in relation to the counter- terrorism issues impacting our countries, including the challenges Turkey and Jordan faces due to their proximity to Syria and Iraq," he said.

"The deployments are part the Australian government's 1.3 billion Australian dollars (1 billion U.S. dollar) investment to combat terrorism, and were announced in the 630 million Australian dollars (485 million U.S. dollar) counter terrorism package last year. They mark yet another milestone in our unprecedented efforts to respond to the terrorist threat posed by conflict in Syria and Iraq." Endi