EU diplomats discuss security, other cooperation with Guyana
A EUROPEAN Union (EU) delegation met with Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee yesterday morning at his Lot 6 Brickdam, Georgetown office, where they discussed continued collaboration on security, health and education strengthening. Ambassador Robert Kopecký, Head of the EU Mission in Guyana, said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss with Minister Rohee this country’s security strategy.
He said colleague, Mr. Rune Skinnebach, who accompanied him, is the Caribbean expert with the European External Action Service and is starting his programme mission to key Caribbean countries, beginning here and continuing in Barbados and Trinidad.
“He will be fault finding, identifying areas for cooperation between the European Union and each member state of CARICOM in the areas of crime, security and drugs. There are funds for lots of these activities but we are at a fault finding stage,” Kopecký said.
He also said that, this year, the EU is identifying new areas of cooperation which continue to be important not only to it but also to the Caribbean Region, as past programmes have seen successful completion and budgets have been approved for support in other areas, such as health and education.
“This will be something very new and this confirms our enjoyment of the partnership shared with Guyana,” Kopecký stated.
Skinnebach said the mission is primarily security in nature.
“There would be an outlining of a joint European Union-Guyana crime and security strategy. On the regional agenda, crime and security is high and it is not only a main challenge to the Caribbean Region but also to the European Union…it’s an issue of shared concern and is, therefore, an area we would be happy to advance and to see how we can optimise the impact of the funds which have been programmed in this field back in 2008.”

POLITICAL PRIORITY
He also said that, in the past, the regional programme focused on integration, as it was then a political priority. However, this visit serves to address the programme of a future development fund.
“We are here now, managing our dialogue with CARICOM and CARIFORUM people to launch the relevant programme…it will be the start of a good relationship which will grow and gradually increase in importance to the field of security…the agenda is a joint one which was defined in close collaboration between the EU and CARICOM member States…at the top of the agenda is drugs and crime coming from drugs which includes money laundering, violence and undermining of resources…there is a host of criminal and social issues covered in this field,” Skinnebach pointed out.
Welcoming him, Mr. Rohee said it has always been a privilege to cooperate on security matters at the international level.
“We are prepared to listen to the good news which has been brought to us, after which we will consider how we will move from there,” the Minister  assured.
The strategic objectives of cooperation between the EU and Guyana deals with:
* the development of a strong, mutually beneficial partnership on the international scene, where the two partners will work together towards the shared ideals of democracy and human rights in the fight against poverty and global threats to peace and
* security and, via EU assistance, enhancing Guyana’s reform and development agenda to strengthen progress towards the achievement of its national goals and objectives.