President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday morning 8 Nissan at his residence, addressed a meeting of state comptrollers and heads of regional ombudsman organizations from 12 countries, accompanied by Israel’s State Comptroller, former Judge Yosef Shapira. The delegation, made up of state comptrollers and chief state auditors from the USA, Austria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, and Sweden, were visiting Israel at the invitation of the State Comptroller’s Office to attend a seminar on the issue of cyber-security.

President Rivlin thanked the delegates for coming from around the world for the important seminar, and welcomed them to Jerusalem. He said, “In Israel, the State Comptroller’s Office has become like a fourth branch of government; independent, efficient, and strong. A body which investigates issues in real time, soon after the event, or even many years before.” He added, “The assessments carried out by the State Comptroller have been shown to address the most important issues, and have placed the office of the Comptroller as an important tool of the State of Israel, and Israeli democracy.”

He told the delegates, “I know that you came here to deal with the complicated issue of cyber-security. This has become one of the most significant and even most dangerous threats for the whole free world,” and stressed, “We need to know how can we defend our government institutions, and essential industries. This has become a very real war and one we must fight together, side by side. Government to government, and together with private industry. We can all learn a lot from each other. Israel is known as a startup nation, and we have experience and knowledge to share. We will be happy and honored to work together for a safer world.”

Israel’s State Comptroller Yosef Shapira, thanked the President for meeting the delegation, and said, “In this era of uncertainty, and these challenging times when undemocratic forces try to change our way of living, and harm the fundamental roots of our countries, and the basic human and social rights of our citizens, it is important we stand together as one against these forces – as you are doing Mr. President, frequently, courageously, and without fear. Whether it be a cyber or any kind of threat, united against it, we will be stronger against it and will prevail.”

U.S. Comptroller General, Mr. Eugene Dodaro, thanked the President for his warm welcome and spoke of the importance of the seminar. He praised the State Comptroller’s Office for the initiative, and said, “It has provided us with the forum to discuss opportunities to strengthen our efforts in our own countries. In the United States, I have designated this as one of the highest risks that our government faces; from a homeland and national security, as well as an economic and social perspective.” He added the importance of global cooperation in facing the threat.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: GPO)