While at home we often complain that Macedonia goes unnoticed everywhere, two Macedonians work at Interpol headquarters - and not in minor roles. According to Interpol's Secretary General, Valdecy Urquiza, one of them runs a global programme for fugitives from justice, missing persons and people wanted under international notices. A small country, but with people in big seats.

Urquiza's message is both a compliment and a reminder: "the size of a country is not what counts, but its potential to contribute." With the rise of artificial intelligence and digital payments, he says, crime erases borders entirely and turns into a transnational operation - which makes global cooperation between police agencies more important than ever. Today's criminal works across borders with a single click; the police have to catch up on the same ground.

The scale is enormous. Interpol's central databases hold over a hundred million records from police forces around the world and are searched millions of times every day. When Macedonian police enter a wanted person, the system automatically screens them across border controls and passenger lists around the world. That is a power no national police force has on its own - and precisely why membership is worth something.

Macedonian police are an active member and take part in operations against drug, human and arms trafficking, and last year the Police Academy joined Interpol's global training network. All of this sounds encouraging - but it is worth keeping one realistic thought in mind. Cooperation with Interpol is a tool, not a guarantee; it is worth exactly as much as domestic institutions make of it. Having access to the largest police network in the world while cases sit unresolved at home for years would be a missed opportunity. The tool is here. The question is whether it will be used.