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Linda Taglialatela, United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

Region receiving support

The United States of America has dedicated some US $263 million through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative partnership, to deal with various security threats facing this region.

That’s according to Linda Taglialatela, United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. She was speaking at the opening ceremony of Exercise TRADEWINDS 2017 at St. Ann’s Fort earlier this week, as she pointed out that as part of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, state-of-the-art patrol boats were procured for many of Caribbean nations, and most of those vessels and their crews, she added, have participated in TRADEWINDS every year since 2014. Her comments came as she said that the Exercise provides a unique opportunity for those crews to cultivate and enhance their capabilities.

Reflecting on Exercise TRADEWINDS in general, she said it will not only better prepare participating countries to face regional threats, but will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise.

“Ultimately that is the goal of TRADEWINDS, to bring together regional partners to build upon already strong relationships, and in doing so advance security of our shared region. TRADEWINDS has always been an important means of facilitating cooperation to reduce illicit trafficking within the Caribbean,” she added.

The Ambassador’s comments came as she said that comprehensive human rights training has been included in the TRADEWINDS agenda. She said the United States is committed to addressing this serious problem in their country and to help others around the world do the same. With that in mind, she said specialised human rights training is an important step forward in preventing exploitation of the most vulnerable members of society; a crime, she is adamant, should not be tolerated anywhere in any form.

“Humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness are also essential tenets of our mutual cooperation and are important components of this year’s TRADEWINDS Exercise,” she added.

She made the remarks as she further noted that the United States Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the United States Southern Command Humanitarian Assistance Programme are working closely with national emergency management organisations as well as multinational organisations to help build regional capacity to respond to natural and man-made disasters. She said that through such partnerships in the Eastern Caribbean alone, the United States has provided more than $5 million to build multiple emergency operationcentres and regional disaster supply warehouses. (JRT)

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