PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo announced, that a modern Money Laundering Bill is soon expected to be tabled in the National Assembly.

The Head of State was addressing members of the media during a press conference last Wednesday at the Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown.

Replying to questions regarding modifying the laws, he said, “Clearly we need a modern framework and a modern extradition treaty. We need at our disposal a whole arsenal of tools to fight drug trafficking from assistance in intelligence to modern laws.”

He added: “I feel in this new framework ,with the Ambassador, Mr. John Jones, of the United States,(U.S.), that we are discussing and I look forward very much to a more modern, more enlightened partnership with the U.S government on this whole issue, that we will be modernising laws too,” he stated.

“I think the last meeting of the Select Committee (Parliamentary) to look at the Money Laundering Bill was held and I think at the next sitting of the Parliament, Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh will present the report so that the modern Money Laundering Bill would be passed,” he said.

“Then we need to look at extradition treaty. We need to look at a number of other legislations, that would allow us to have more tools to fight drug trafficking and crime generally, so I am pleased that we are moving forward in this regard,” he noted.

President Jagdeo had said he is looking for better crime fighting collaboration between the U.S and Guyana and is more upbeat about this after meeting US. Ambassador and said, “…there’s a commitment on both sides to work on a new framework that will allow some equity in this”.

At the press conference last Thursday, President Jagdeo recalled that just about two months ago, he spoke about the differences Guyana had with the U.S. administration over the approach to tackle drug trafficking and the smuggling or the export of small arms from the U.S.

“When I mentioned these things at couple of my engagements here, some people quickly jump on the bandwagon and they said we were against the United States of America and since they were the defenders of American interest here in Guyana, they thought that I was being extreme,” Mr. Jagdeo asserted.

The Guyanese leader said he was “very pleased” that weeks later, both U.S President Barack Obama and Mrs. Hillary Clinton, his Secretary of State, in relation to Mexico, said almost the same things, that he had said on the issue.

“First of all, that the U.S. had to do more at home to fight drug trafficking because the demand was pushing the supply and secondly, that a lot of the financial transactions – this is what President Calderon of Mexico mentioned – arose out of the United States…,” the President said.

The President said Mrs. Clinton even mentioned that the U.S. needs to do much more to stop arms going into those countries.

“I was very pleased with this changed approach by the U.S. government…it is a very, very positive approach to tackling the issue of drugs and gun smuggling,” President Jagdeo declared.