Guyana is being represented at the 2014 Caribbean Nations Security Conference (Cansec) by Brigadier Mark Phillips, Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force.
A release from the United States Embassy said that Dominican Minister of Defence Admiral Sigfrido Pared Perez and General John F Kelly, Commander of the US Southern Command (Southcom) had announced that the Dominican Republic and the United States are jointly hosting the conference from Tuesday to today at the Hilton Santo Domingo.
The conference will discuss the progress of ongoing efforts to improve the region’s security and information-sharing capabilities. The theme for this year’s conference is “Caribbean security support to CBSI: Sustaining the capacity to counter transnational organized crime.”
The release said that the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) was developed by US and Caribbean leaders in an effort to substantially reduce illicit trafficking, increase public safety and security, and promote social justice by integrating approaches.
The conference is being attended by defence, law enforcement and civilian leaders representing 21 countries including: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, The Bahamas, Belize, Colombia, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, as well as Trinidad and Tobago. Regional representatives from Canada, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were also invited.
The US delegation attending the conference also includes senior representatives and subject matter experts from the US State Department, Joint Interagency Task Force-South, the Inter- American Defence Board, and the Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies. Other guests include the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (Impacs) and the Canadian Joint Operations Command.
According to the release, since 2010, the US has committed more than $263 million to support the CBSI. Under CBSI, Southcom has provided intercept boats, communication packages, spare parts and tools, and related training to Caribbean coast guard, naval and other maritime patrol forces. Currently, the Command staffs and funds a technical assistance field team to assist Caribbean nations with maintenance, logistics and procurement systems essential to sustaining long-term readiness of maritime patrol forces and service life of critical maritime patrol resources.
The US and the Dominican Republic enjoy a longstanding history of military and humanitarian collaboration. The Beyond the Horizons (BTH) programme scheduled for March 15 in the Southwest province of Barahona is an example of the strong partnership between both nations.
BTH is a joint Dominican/US military humanitarian and civic assistance programme where US and Dominican medical and engineering personnel build and renovate infrastructure as well as provide free medical and dental clinics in vulnerable and impoverished communities since 2006. This year’s plan includes the construction of three medical clinics and two schools with the additional participation of personnel from four countries: Chile, Canada, Colombia, and Brazil, the release added.
