St Vincent and the Grenadines
Kingstown, 2 June 2022 – Dr. The Honourable Ralph Everard Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the EU-funded action SEACOP, in order to pursue cooperation in the fight against illicit maritime trade.
During an official signing ceremony held in Kingstown, the Prime Minister reiterated his country’s commitment to the fight against drug trafficking and to strengthening regional and transregional cooperation in this regard.
SEACOP Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean, Karen Clarke, signed on behalf of the EU-funded action, which is implemented by a consortium led by Expertise France and the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP).
“This signature marks the continuation of a long-standing collaboration between SEACOP and St Vincent and the Grenadines in the fight against drug trafficking in the region. The country’s Maritime Intelligence Unit and Joint Maritime Control Unit were first established in 2015 with the support of SEACOP, and the JMCU has since received mentoring courses every year,” Karen Clarke stated, noting that the previous MoU was signed six years ago by Hon. Ralph Gonsalves himself.
“We are especially proud to be here today as this ceremony comes after a very successful five-day mentoring course delivered to officers from the Customs, Police and Coast Guards,” she added. “This follows the delivery of a highly praised regional workshop in Barbados last month, to which a new member from St Vincent and the Grenadines’ MIU participated.”
In a message, Ambassador of the European Union to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS and CARICOM/CARIFORUM, Małgorzata Wasilewska, said: “There is simply no security issue where less cooperation is the answer. Traffickers are working together across borders, and so must we. The trafficking of illicit goods – including drugs – has a devastating impact on social and economic development as well as on public health. We are connected to the world and we know that where the stakes are the highest, we cannot succeed without international cooperation in intelligence sharing and collaborative enforcement.”
“The Global Illicit Flows Programme and its different components, like SEACOP, strive to provide mechanisms for our partners to cooperate and integrate in a way that would equal the level of close cooperation and high mobility of criminal networks. The projects have come a long way in building up capacities and encouraging inter-agency as well as international cooperation. The EU remains deeply committed to this approach,” she added.
The MoU signing was preceded by a number of high-level meetings including a National Steering Committee which gathered key partners and stakeholders of SEACOP in the country.
Building on the achievements of the four first phases, SEACOP V aims to continue contributing to the fight against maritime illicit trade and associated criminal networks in the targeted countries of the Caribbean, including Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Latin America and West Africa. Consistent with human rights, the project seeks to help alleviate illicit trafficking’s negative impact on security, public health and socio-economic development.
