THE Fourth Meeting of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) Commission was deemed a tremendous success by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Security of St. Kitts and Nevis Astona Browne, who is also the Commission’s co-chair.Speaking at a press conference subsequent to the closing of the two-day conference at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Liliendaal, she said that the Commission was able to discuss all the agenda items.
The progress made thus far with CBSI projects was reviewed and recommendations were proffered with regard to areas that require improvement, as well as the overall operations of agencies that are tasked with maintaining security throughout the region.
Browne expressed appreciation at the reaffirmed commitment of donor partners such as the Canadian, French and British Governments to continue supporting this initiative.
The CBSI is a joint venture built upon a dialogue in order to identify areas where cooperation is needed, particularly as it relates to security in the Region. It was launched by US President Barack Obama in May 2010.
Working closely with the US Government, the Commission has already put in place several programmes and initiatives that are reflective of the strategic goals advanced in CARICOM’s crime and security strategy for the region.
Speaking on behalf of the local delegation, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Angela Johnson, remarked that Guyana welcomes the continued progress that is being made under the CBSI to address at-risk youths, trafficking in firearms, digitising of regional ballistic information, and development of advanced fingerprint system in the Region.
She noted that the deliberations at the meeting highlighted the benefits of collaboration among countries in the Region, the US and other international partners to counter the negative effects of crime.
“The Government of Guyana recognises the importance of the CBSI to the overall crime and security strategy of the Region. The Government is spending significant sums of its own money to carry out reforms in the Guyana Police Force, Guyana Prison Service and Guyana Fire Service. We are of the view that the CBSI initiatives will complement these reforms,” Johnson stated.
Director of the Office of Caribbean Affairs in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the US Department of State, Juan Alsace, who assisted in co-chairing the meeting, reminded that transnational crime transcends national borders and as such it requires a collaborative effort and better management of resources.
This he said will be the underlying theme for the Fourth Annual Caribbean-United States Security Cooperation Dialogue slated for December 5 and 6 in Washington D.C.
The US Government has dedicated more than US $263M to CBSI over the last four years despite its own budgetary constraints. This includes US $60M that was allocated this year.
“Despite our budgetary concerns, the US Government considers what we are doing in the Caribbean so very important that there was an additional $60M for 2013 and that had strong US congressional bi-partisan support,” Alsace said.
The CBSI is a partnership that seeks to meet the varied threats arising from increasing crime and violence throughout the Region. It has emerged as a genuine partnership among 14 countries, each bearing responsibility for ensuring progress towards the collective goals and objectives.
These countries include: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

(GINA)