WASHINGTON, DC, USA (CMC) – The Bahamas and Jamaica are the only Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries that have agreed to establish the Inter-American Network on Counterterrorism that will “facilitate immediate exchange of information on terrorist threats”.

The Organization of American States (OAS) said the other countries that have agreed to establish the network, through the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE), are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, United States, Mexico, and Uruguay.

The Washington-based hemispheric body said the project is aimed at “strengthening cooperation between member states to prevent and address terrorist threats.

“The information-sharing network, the only one of its kind in the Americas, will operate on a 24/7 basis among OAS member-states. By facilitating communication among points of contact designated by each member state, countries of the Western Hemisphere will be able to respond more effectively to terrorist threats,” the OAS said.

It said the 24-month project will be developed by CICTE under a US $395,000 grant, using United States Government foreign assistance funding.

The OAS said that the CICTE, created two decades ago to prevent and counter terrorism in the Western Hemisphere, has “extensive experience in establishing information exchange networks”, and has “successfully operated similar networks”, such as csirtamericas.org, a network that brings together Cyber Incident Response Centres (CSIRTs) of the Americas, including the Caribbean, for the exchange of information on threats and cyber risks.

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said it is important to share information “that helps to prevent more effectively any kind of terrorist threat.

“We hope that this network contributes significantly to increasing security in the Americas. I urge the countries of the region to participate in the network and to expand their coordination and cooperation with respect to terrorist threats.”

The coordinator for counterterrorism at the US Department of State, Ambassador Nathan A Sales, said that through the network, “countries will be able to share terrorism alerts and advisories, notices of counterterrorism actions, and other relevant information without delay, a capability that does not currently exist”.

The OAS said the creation of the Inter-American Network against Terrorism responds to the requests of numerous OAS member-states to establish “an efficient mechanism to share information on urgent terrorist threats”.

Last July, during the Second Hemispheric Ministerial Conference on the Fight against Terrorism, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 18 OAS member-states agreed to establish this network through CICTE.