On Wednesday, July 9, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Tom Kelly, Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman, Minister of Transport and Aviation Glenys Hanna-Martin and other senior U.S. and Bahamian officials were on hand to support the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The MOU establishes new cooperative mechanisms for the prosecution of suspected pirates.
Acting Assistant Secretary Kelly and Minister Mitchell also signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the Cooperative Situational Information Integration initiative. This agreement supports improved regional domain awareness and information sharing among participating Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) partners and citizen security efforts against transnational threats such as illicit trafficking.
In his remarks, Acting Assistant Secretary Kelly noted that the United States welcomes this new agreement with The Bahamas, which is a major flag registry state, as well as a source of mariners working in the global shipping industry.
“The United States looks forward to working closely with The Bahamas as our two nations, and our many partner states, take steps to ensure that the scourge of piracy continues to decline.”
He added, “We are honored to participate in this collaboration with The Bahamas and, indeed, believe that this historic MOU, which is the first between the United States and an international partner, will serve as a model to other nations interested in expanding their roles in the counter-piracy realm.”
Source: US Embassy, Nassau
Caption:
The Minister of Transport and Aviation, The Hon. Glenys Hanna-Martin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Hon. Fred Mitchell, Acting Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, Tom Kelly and U.S. Chargé d’Affaires John Dinkelman.
