Caricom, US security meeting starts here Monday

Government in collaboration with the US Government, the Caricom Secretariat and the Caricom Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) will be hosting the 4th Meeting of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Commission (CBSI) early next week.

At the November 18 and 19 meeting, programmes that were implemented under the CBSI will be evaluated and decisions related to future projects will be taken, a press statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The Security Cooperation Initiatives among the USA, Caricom countries and the Dominican Republic aims to build the capacity of Law Enforcement Agencies as well as focus on ventures targeting at risk youth.

The CBSI was conceptualised at a meeting held in April 2009 in Trinidad and Tobago by US President Barack Obama at the 5th Summit of the Americas where a multimillion-dollar package of support was announced by the USA to help Caribbean countries to address crime and security in a holistic manner.

The joint Caribbean United States Framework for the Security Cooperation Engagement is based on three pillars: The Caribbean US Security Cooperation Dialogue at which meetings are held at least annually at the ministerial level; The Caribbean US Security Cooperation Commission which is responsible for monitoring the implementation of projects and related issues and Ad Hoc Technical Working Groups that are required to meet as required.

The meeting will be held at the International Conference Centre.