KINGSTON, Jamaica — State Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Pearnel Charles Jr is urging countries within the Caribbean region to increase their collaborative efforts in countering the threat of terrorism in the region.

He was speaking at the 3

^rd

plenary session at the Ministerial Dialogue on Counterterrorism in the Western Hemisphere Washington DC on Tuesday.

Speaking under the theme, “Terrorist Travel and Law Enforcement Cooperation,” Charles noted that, “Although the threat of terrorism is low in Jamaica, the country is faced with the reality of CARICOM nationals returning from conflict zones that may have been exposed to violent jihadist ideologies”.

“Our efforts must be coordinated and to that end, we must share the relevant biometric data, travel records, banking and financial information to assist law enforcement in detecting, identifying, disrupting and prosecuting terrorist networks,” he continued.

The state minister noted too that the establishment of regional security frameworks such as the Council for National Security and Law Enforcement (CONSLE) as an organ of the Community and the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) the implementing Agency, serves to operationalise the region’s counter-terrorism strategy. 

The two sub-agencies of IMPACS — the Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre (RIFC) and the Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC) — have contributed significantly to the development of regional counterterrorism policies.

Charles Jr also advised that the Counter Terrorism Forum would seek to strengthen partnerships among the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Interpol and regional institutions.