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Posted: Wednesday 13 July, 2016 at 11:15 PM

PM Harris, who is chairman of the RSS Council of Ministers, to speak at closing ceremony for RSS Staff and Command Course

Photo shows Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris and His Excellency the Governor-General Sir S.W. Tapley Seaton GCMG, CVO, QC, JP with members of the armed forces. The photo was taken at the passing out parade of the St. Kitts and Nev
By: Valencia Grant, Press Secretary, Press Release

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, July 13th, 2016 – Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris will deliver the Feature Address tomorrow, Thursday, July 14th, during the closing ceremony at the Ocean Terrace Inn for the Regional Security System (RSS) Training Institute’s Staff and Command Course.  

     

    With effect from April 1st, 2016, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis assumed the chairmanship of the Council of Ministers that oversees the Regional Security System (RSS).  The chairmanship rotates on an annual basis, so Dr. Harris will chair the RSS up to March 31st, 2017.  The Council of Ministers comprises Government Ministers who have responsibility for the national security portfolio in each of the seven RSS member states. 

    The six-week Staff and Command Course, which began in St. Kitts and Nevis on June 6th, trained participants comprised of police, defence force, customs, fire, immigration, and prison services staff from across the RSS Community.  The stated mission of the course is “to prepare middle to senior level managers in law enforcement and security agencies in RSS member states to be effective leaders, thereby improving the region’s response to incidents of major crime, transnational organized crime and terrorism.” 

    The RSS conducts national security research and analyses crime statistics in order to combat threats such as illicit drugs and arms trafficking.  Its Training Institute aims, inter alia, to standardize police training throughout the member states.  The RSS Air Wing undertakes counter drug surveillance missions using sensor-fitted aircraft, and the RSS Coast Guard undertakes coordinated patrols to interdict illegal drugs.  RSS Land Forces are deployed to member states to assist with hurricane aftermath efforts, large national events such as the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup, states of emergency and other matters of importance to national security.

    In October 1982, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Barbados to provide mutual assistance upon request.  St. Kitts and Nevis signed the MOU in February 1984 and Grenada signed it in January 1985.  On March 5th, 1996 in Grenada, the MOU was replaced when the member states signed the treaty establishing the Regional Security System.

    The Regional Security System benefits from sustained funding by partner countries.  The European Union gave the RSS a 1.2 million EUR grant for the years 2014 to 2017.  The RSS Training Institute was established with funds from the Canadian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.  The US has given the RSS and its member states over $30 million to develop security programs since the launch of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.  

    An Executive Director, Mr. Grantley Watson, heads up the RSS Headquarters in Barbados, overseeing the day-to-day work and reporting to the Council of Ministers.

    The mission statement of the RSS is “to ensure the stability and well-being of Member States through mutual cooperation in order to maximize regional security in preserving the social and economic development of our people” and its motto is “Strength Through Unity.”

      
     
     
     

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