She made the point at the 23rd Inter-Sessional meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government in Paramaribo, Suriname.
“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is committed to regional security and wishes to reassure the region of its continued high interest," she told her fellow heads of government attending the two-day conference.
She added, "CARICOM with all its rich human resource, local knowledge can come together and build a virtual wall around the region.
"Failure to do so can result in a complete breakdown in law and order and lead to the region surrendering to the lawless and those with other motives inimical to the peace and stability of the region.”
She said the security situation in Trinidad and Tobago and the region is critically important.
“The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago remains steadfast in its commitment to address security threats. Through its Security and Intelligence infrastructure Trinidad and Tobago continues to monitor crime and security developments nationally and internationally," she said.
"As a result of the trends and patterns as indicated by crime and murder statistics in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider CARICOM Region, I wish to assure member states that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago is extremely concerned with the security situation both at home and regionally.”
The Prime Minister called on each Head of Government present to communicate a commitment to work with other states, in areas including the sharing of information, intelligence and expertise.
She added that the local and regional institutions must be held to high standards and must discharge their duties with professionalism.
The Prime Minister also stated that there is a definite need to monitor international developments with a view to alerting Member States to potential issues.
She expressed the hope that IMPACS, the JRCC and the RIFC working together could provide Member States with the information needed to address emerging threats. The Prime Minister asserted that the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is committed to assist in this area.
Persad-Bissessar also announced the establishment a Regional Coordinating Unit within her office, which will among other things monitor national, regional and international trends with a view to contributing to the development of regional strategies.
This Unit will also provide oversight for IMPACS; and cited that the Trinidad delegation wished to assure CARICOM of its Government’s commitment to augmenting the security assets within the region through the following measures of support:
- Acquisition of four (4) medium Twin Turbine Helicopters each with a 600 mile range and relevant training programme
- Evaluating the acquisition of two Long Rage Patrol Vessels capable of
- regional patrol
- Consideration is being given for the increase of its fixed wing assets.
Other notable matters arising included the need for Member States to further agree to ratify the CARICOM Maritime and Airspace Security Cooperative Agreement which would be a major step toward securing the region and consideration to placing the Regional Security agenda as a matter of urgency and high priority.
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