Commissioner of Police Mr. Edward Hall of the Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force, and Mr. Alonzo Malcolm, Deputy Director of Immigration of the Turks and Caicos Immigration Department;

The Honorable Elma Campbell, Minister of State for Immigration;

Ms. Marilyn Zonicle, Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Under Secretary, Mr. Peter Deveaux-Isaacs, representing the Ministry of National Security and Immigration. Other senior Bahamian Government Officials, members of the Press, Good Morning, and welcome to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador, we are both participating in our first meeting of this Joint Drug Task Force, held twice yearly between representatives of our two countries, and in more recent times of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

You come to the meeting following on your appointment as Ambassador and my appointment as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Despite our being "the new kids on the block" in our present official capacities, both you and I are fully aware of the pain and suffering that the production, trafficking and use of illicit drugs continues to generate in our respective countries, and indeed the entire globe.

It is for this precise reason that representatives from our countries set out some twenty years ago on a collaborative mission to meet and review the successes of our anti-drug efforts, identify challenges, and agree on strategies moving forward in our fight to eliminate this evil.

These meetings speak well to the mutual respect; trust and dedication to purpose that exist between us, both at the operational and the policy level. They also give clear indication of our understanding that no one country can counter such a grave threat to national security and stability on its own.

Our joint efforts under OPBAT and the Comprehensive Maritime Agreement, have oft times been touted as one of the best examples of regional and extra-regional cooperation anywhere in the world.

Sadly however, the mere fact that we have had to continue to meet and to strategize for the past 20 years starkly brings home the fact that the enemy against whom we fight, has not given up in its efforts to find ways of flooding our cities and communities with their poison.

Reports coming from the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), indicate that the production of Cocaine, marijuana and synthetic drugs continues unabated. We therefore cannot in any way lose our resolve, nor reduce or efforts to combat illicit drug trafficking.

Our discussions in this meeting will show that this has been a year of challenge and change in our fight against drug abuse and illicit trafficking.

Earlier this year, the mission of OPBAT in Georgetown Exuma, was turned over from the U.S. Army to the U.S. DEA. We had the opportunity, on that occasion, to express appreciation to the U.S. Army for it’s more than two decades of dedicated service in Bahamas-United States cooperation in international drug control. We also took the opportunity to welcome the DEA, and to communicate our expectation for a seamless transfer of operations and continuing close cooperation in this fight.

The Government of The Bahamas remains fully committed to the total elimination of the illicit drug trade, which has had such a negative impact on our society, and we continue to show this in a tangible way.

In this budget year, the contributions to all Law Enforcement Agencies have been increased by the Government.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force in particular, will benefit significantly from this increase.

In August of this year, the Force purchased two (2) small craft, which are now attached to the Nassau Harbour Unit. Six additional vessels are in various stages of construction and are expected to completed and fully integrated into the Fleet by next year.

Please permit me to take this opportunity Ambassador, to again express the sincerest thanks of the Government of The Bahamas to the Government of the United States for the pledge of four (4) forty-foot Go-Fast vessels under the Enduring Friendship Program. These vessels are expected to arrive shortly, and will greatly enhance the operational capability of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

Plans for the establishment of Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) in Inagua, Grand Bahama, and the Exumas are ongoing.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force and other law enforcement agencies of our respective countries, continue to provide yeoman’s service as they seek innovative ways to combat illegal drug trafficking, and all of its associated ills.

Since the technical meeting held in June of this year, our Drug Enforcement Unit along with other Bahamian and US and Turks and Caicos law enforcement agencies, have realized notable successes in their anti drug efforts.

The Acting Commissioner of Police, Reginald Ferguson, whom I now take this opportunity to congratulate on his ascension to that post, will no doubt share in greater detail, this and other pertinent information.

The international drug trade, which we have combated for decades, has opened a window of opportunity for other trafficking enterprises, with a resultant formidable array of critical problems.

One of these trafficking issues, migrant smuggling is an ongoing problem for The Bahamas and is now a part of our Joint Task Force remit.

Another aspect that has us most concerned is the illicit traffic in arms. This matter was taken up in a CARICOM-United States Seminar on Combating Illicit Trafficking in Arms, held here in Nassau 11-12 December 2007, just two days ahead of this meeting.

The Bahamas was pleased to host this important and successful meeting. We congratulate the United States organizers and participants for a job well done.

We all left that Seminar conscious of the stark reality that illicit arms trafficking is wreaking havoc on the Small Island and archipelagic states of the Caribbean. Murder and violent crime by illicit guns are far to commonplace in our islands. The Bahamas is firmly committed to the position taken on the small arms trafficking issue in the CARICOM-US Initiative on Combating the Illicit Trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons and Ammunition, circulated to Member States on 3 December of this year.

Given the negative impact of illicit trafficking in small arms, in all of our societies, it may be time for this subject to find expression in our discourse in this and subsequent Joint Task Force meetings.

Collaboration, inclusive of the sharing of intelligence and the rapid deployment of assets as required, has been the formula for much of the success that we have enjoyed. This cooperation must continue.

I was unable to attend the tripartite talks held on the island of Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands this past Tuesday, between representatives from your Government, the Government of Turks and Caicos and the Government of The Bahamas.

I have however, been reliably informed by the Minister of State for Immigration and Commander Rolle of my Ministry, that the common thread which ran throughout all of the discussions was the need for continued and improved cooperation between our respective Governments, particularly in the areas of illegal migration and the trafficking of illicit drugs.

The Government of The Bahamas most certainly endorses any initiative aimed at fostering closer dialogue.

I wish to state here that in that same spirit of cooperation, the Government of The Bahamas pledges its continued assistance to our friends and partners in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Wherever and whenever we can provide technical expertise and training to improve your capability in this mutual fight, we will seek to do so.

Please permit me to re-iterate the gratefulness of the Bahamian Government for the financial and technical assistance received thus far from the Government of the United States, to assist in sustaining our anti-drug efforts over the years.

As we are all aware, in order to effectively address the drug problem, efforts must simultaneously focus on reduction in both supply and demand. Although the focus of these meetings has been predominately on supply reduction, it is imperative that we keep abreast of what is happening with demand reduction, and Mr. Weeks of our National Drug Council will update us later on this very critical area. The support of your Government in this area is also noted with much appreciation.

In closing Ambassador Siegel, Commissioner Hall, colleagues, this morning as we share information, ideas and recommendations aimed at strengthening our collective anti-drug efforts, I am assured that our discussions will be fruitful and will be conducted as they always have been, in the spirit of collegiality, and respect for sovereignty of our respective countries.

Please permit me to wish each and every one of you best wishes for the holiday season and trust that 2008 will bring many successes to you all.