GEORGETOWN (GUYANA), March 13 (NNN-GINA) — Guyana’s Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee and Suriname?s Minister of Justice and Police, Chandrikapersaud Santokhi expressed similar sentiments on the drug trade that both countries are plagued with.
They were at the time speaking with the press subsequent to the conclusion of the second meeting of the Guyana/Suriname Ministerial Bilateral Meeting on Crime and Security at the Pegasus Hotel, Kingston.
Santokhi in responding to a question on the systems adopted by the countries to effectively detect criminal elements criss-crossing the borders, said that there has been information exchange that led to the apprehension of several criminal elements who were subsequently handed over to the Guyanese authorities.
?An agreement was reached to have a constant exchange of information and to update the information on a regular basis to act proactively on the information in Suriname,? Santokhi said.
Minister Rohee added that there have been branches of law enforcement agencies between Guyana and Suriname which have been fine-tuned during the meeting to address gaps and deficiencies where necessary.
The Ministers were questioned on whether or not any agreement was reached as it relates to engaging South American nations, particularly Venezuela, to combat the drug trade, since evidently; it is an issue that is much bigger than Guyana and Suriname.
In response to this Rohee said that ?we ought not to miss a very important point, there is no evidence that the trafficking of narcotics by those who are involved in it is something that is easily done, given the aggressive stand many Governments in this hemisphere has taken.
Further, Santokhi added that the drug problem which is manifesting in the two nations is a direct impact of the international problem in the hemisphere.
However, he stated that ?as a nation we have our own responsibility to tackle the drugs problem by having mechanisms in place such as the appropriate legislation, but we do need to have that cooperation mechanism to have that regional, international and bilateral cooperation.?
He concluded that to effectively eradicate drug related crimes, countries have to foster partnerships and for Suriname, Guyana is one such partner.
The third session of the Ministerial Bilateral Meeting will be convened in Suriname. — NNN-GINA
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