United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on June 22 met with Caricom ministers to reaffirm the Caribbean-U.S. partnership in several key priority areas, including the reduction of drug trafficking and repatriation of criminal deportees from Washington to the Caribbean.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
According to a State Department statement, the meeting, which was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, addressed the common challenges as outlined a year ago in Barbados, when the two sides met and served as an opportunity to review the progress made in the past year, and discuss the road forward. The statement added that, in a spirit of partnership and mutual respect, a broad range of issues impacting the countries were discussed, including regional security, economic development, social inclusion, energy, food and nutrition security, and climate change.
“The United States and Caribbean countries reaffirmed a shared commitment to work together through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) partnership to reduce illicit trafficking in drugs, small arms and ammunition; increase public safety and security; and promote social justice,” the State Department said.
According to the State Department, since the June 2010 Bridgetown meeting, CBSI partners have concluded a series of technical working groups and collectively identified several key security priorities. “The United States and the Caribbean have made progress in remedial education and jobs skills training for youth; juvenile justice reform, anti- corruption, border security, prison reform; police professionalization, regional data sharing, drug demand reduction, and maritime interdiction capacity – all priorities identified by the CBSI partnership.”
The statement said, too, that the two sides have had discussions on the issues of repatriating criminal deportees to their home countries, and the need to continue addressing these issues was noted. It added that the participants look forward to further progress in addressing identified priorities as they prepare for the upcoming Second Annual Dialogue on Regional Security Issues, to be held in November in The Bahamas.
“The participants reaffirmed their solidarity with the people of Haiti, and their commitment to supporting Haiti in its reconstruction efforts, and the strengthening of its institutional and human capacity in furtherance of its sustainable development. The United States and the Caribbean are also cooperating under the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy, poverty, and climate change,” the statement said.
Also, at the meeting, Clinton announced projects that will receive clean energy technical assistance under the Advancing Sustainable Energy Solutions in the Caribbean Initiative and the Caribbean Climate Change Adaptation Initiative, which partners with the University of the West Indies with U.S. universities through U. S. partner Higher Education for Development, to enhance research and promote outreach to policy- makers on climate change adaptation.
The two sides also committed to work together toward a successful outcome at the climate negotiations in Durban that builds on Cancún.
“The United States and Caribbean countries recognised that enhancement of growth and economic development of the Caribbean would contribute to improving the international competitiveness of those countries, as well as to achieving their objectives of improved standard of living, job creation, and social stability. They therefore agree to work together to achieving these objectives. The United States and the Caribbean countries also discussed the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters and the need to continue cooperating on those issues. They also took note of the extension of the CBTPA and the possibility which it holds for Caribbean exports through increased production and productivity,” the State Department said.
The participants also recognised the civic and cultural contributions of the Caribbean diaspora highlighted during Caribbean-American Heritage Month in the United States. They noted the Caribbean diaspora’s connections to their native communities and considered ways to engage those communities in solving shared problems. On May 17, 2011, Clinton announced the launch of the International Diaspora Engagement Alliance, IDEA.
The Caribbean was represented by foreign affairs ministers and delegation heads of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
