United States--Bahamas Partnership Dialogue

On December 17-18, 2012 senior officials from the Governments of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the United States of America will meet in Nassau, The Bahamas, to engage in a broad ranging dialogue on issues of concern to both nations.  Liliana Ayalde, Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States Department of State, led the delegation of senior officials from a wide-ranging number of U.S. Government agencies. 

The dialogue will include a day-long series of open, collaborative, and productive discussions on narcotics smuggling; illegal migration; trafficking of illegal firearms; Maritime Domain Awareness; crime prevention; and community security. 

The meetings will also offer an opportunity to review the bilateral partnership with a goal of identifying emerging threats to both countries, strengthening existing security mechanisms and identifying new areas of potential cooperation.   

The visit follows the U.S. delegation’s participation in the third annual Caribbean-United States Security Cooperation Dialogue held in Trinidad and Tobago, December 5, 2012.  Officials from 15 countries traveled to Port of Spain to discuss the region's shared citizen security partnership, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). Working together through CBSI, the United States and the nations of the Caribbean are combating the drug trade and other transnational crimes that threaten regional security. This partnership fulfills the commitment to deepen regional security cooperation that President Barack Obama made at the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009.

CBSI is one piece in an integrated effort that includes the other citizen security initiatives in the Hemisphere. The United States, CARICOM member nations, and the Dominican Republic are improving citizen safety throughout the Caribbean by working together to: Substantially reduce illicit trafficking; Increase public safety and security, and promote social justice.

The Bahamas will benefit directly from several of the programs described above, to include:

• Purchase and repair of maritime interdiction and patrol assets to increase the capacity of the Royal Bahamian Defence and Police Forces to control its national territory and waters;
• Training and equipment to reduce cultivation, production, and trafficking of illicit drugs through supporting the counternarcotics operations of Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos (OPBAT);
• Strengthening the professionalism of law enforcement institutions through technical assistance, equipment, and training on information collection capabilities, tactical techniques, and narcotics investigations;
• Providing training and drugs kits to Her Majesty’s prison to reduce drug demand and outreach to at-risk populations through the Youth Expression Against Drugs project.