Keith Rowley & Anthony Blinken collaborates to fight against crime in T&T

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken discussed national security and firearms trafficking at a high-level meeting.

According to the statement of US Secretary Blinken, the US will partner with T&T to fight against the crimes and firearms smuggling as a priority.

Notably, the T&T prime minister led on his Washington trip on Sunday, and he visited the US State Department, where he was a part of the meeting with the US delegation led by Blinken.

Noting this, he participated in a series of meetings with senior US government delegates and representatives on energy, cybersecurity, commerce, diplomacy, and other issues that are important to maintaining the peace and harmony of the nation. 

It is to be noted that it was PM Rowley’s first international business trip for the year 2024.

During the talks, PM Rowley made it clear to Blinken that his main focus is to secure the country, and its security challenges should be treated on a priority level as they are extremely important.

As per the statement from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), this meeting brought strength and empowered the allies of both nations. 

“Both countries continue to partner on several key issues, including energy, education, crime prevention, training, and technical assistance”, added OPM.

Continuing to the statement, the OPM further stated, “Discussions focused specifically on national security and firearms trafficking and the work being advanced through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, which is the US regional citizen security and development programme.”

Furthermore, the talks also discussed the “historical and emerging issues surrounding Venezuela as it relates to T&T’s path towards achieving energy security for the region.” The agenda also included talks on cooperation to strengthen cyber and digital policy and approaches to the ongoing instability in Haiti.

Additionally, US Secretary Blinken was one of the guests to attend Caricom’s 50th Anniversary celebrations last July. He welcomed the T&T team to Washington. 

“It was a great pressure to receive Rowley. Especially after the very warm hospitality shown to me in Port-of-Spain last year”, added Blinken.