Gov't signs MOU with US to protect coasts
Published:Wednesday | February 23, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Castries (CMC):
St Lucia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United States that allows for further protection of the island's coastal borders.
Prime Minister Stephenson King said that the Secure Seas Programme (SSP) will not only provide assistance to the local police, but that it also had a very strong social component.
"We believe that the fight against crime (and) the fight to protect our borders can be done in a number of ways. There must be a multi-faceted approach from the social angle and also at prevention and protection levels," King said.
The SSP is intended to assist St. Lucia and other Eastern Caribbean states combat drug trafficking. It is an integral part of President Obama's Caribbean Basin Security initiative first announced at the US Caribbean summit in 2009.