The United States has agreed to explore methods to combat criminal activity in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean region.
The agreement was reached following discussions between T&T Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and U.S. Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Beatrice Wilkinson Welters at the Diplomatic Center, Port of Spain.
The prime minister met with the U.S. ambassador in response to a congratulatory message by U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton on T&T’s 48th anniversary of Independence recently.
A statement issued by the Office of the Prime Minister said Persad-Bissessar and Welters specifically discussed the significance of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, which will fund an array of initiatives to equip Caribbean nations to confront and resolve long-standing security threats.
U.S. President Barack Obama first announced this initiative when he attended the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain last year.
Under the initiative, the U.S. would provide $45 million in assistance to Caribbean countries to strengthen respective security systems.
Persad-Bissessar and Welters also discussed the tradition of TT-US cooperation and ways to expand that relationship to combat crime and deter drug trafficking in the region.
The Trinidad and Tobago prime minister in July held talks with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Jamaica about how the UN could assist Trinidad and Tobago and other CARICOM nations with respect to security.
