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Regional Security Officials End Meeting In Guyana

GEORGETOWN, Guyana CMC – The fourth meeting of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) Commission ended here, on Tuesday, with delegates expressing satisfaction that the project has been able to make a significant difference in criminal activities in the region.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security of St. Kitts and Nevis and Co-Chair of the CBSI Commission, Astona Browne, as well as Juan Alsace of the United States, who also co-chaired the two-day meeting, said, that under the CBSI there had been illegal drug seizures in CARICOM member states, training of law enforcement officials and the provision of fast boats to help curtail maritime criminal activities.

Browne described the meeting as a success, noting that delegates had identified areas that require improvement in the months ahead.

She said some projects that were discussed at the meeting included the Advanced Fingerprinting Information System (AFIS), Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS), Regional Integrated Ballistics Information Network (RIBIN), Counter Arms Trafficking and Crime Prevention Efforts in relation to At-risk youth.

She told reporters that one of the aims of CBSI was crime prevention and that there had been a focus on deterring at-risk youth from becoming involved in criminal activity while helping them to develop vocational skills.

Alsace, who is the Director of the Office of Caribbean Affairs at the US Department of State, said areas of improvement identified at the meeting included a more efficient use of resources, information sharing and the establishment of minimum standards across the region.

He said to date the US government had dedicated US$263 million dollars to the project over the past four years, with US$60 million being spent this year.

The CBSI came out of the Fifth Summit of the Americas, the brainchild of US President Barack Obama. It was formally launched in May 2010. It 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.

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