To fight terrorism, countries must adopt a holistic approach in areas of intelligence, law enforcement and engagement.

Professor Rohan Gunaratna from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University said this at the opening of the three-day Global Security Asia exhibition and conference on Tuesday.

The professor of security studies, who is also the head of the RSIS International Centre for Political and Terrorism Research, also underlined the importance of rehabilitation which is becoming a "staple in the fight against extremism". Rehabilitation ensures that terrorists held in custody are no longer a threat when they return to the community or regarded as a hero to armed political groups, otherwise known as "terrorist iconography".

The event expects to see more than 7,000 visitors and will feature 41 international speakers from Interpol, Nato and other state security agencies.

Among the speakers on Tuesday was Mr Noboru Nakatani, executive director of the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation in Singapore. The centre is scheduled to open in late 2014.

Mr Nakatani spoke about cyber crime as "one of the biggest and most pervasive threat of our age to security" and how countries should collaborate on "closing the gaps" that cyber criminals manipulate to their advantage.