NASSAU, Bahamas – A voluntary contribution from the Government of the Bahamas to the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) and to the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorrism (CICTE), took place today March 4th at the Organization of American States (OAS), in the Office of the Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Albert Ramdin.
On behalf of the Bahamian Government, the OAS Permanent Representative of the Bahamas, Ambassador Cornelius A. Smith donated $5000 each to CICTE, represented by Dr. Carol Fuller, Secretary of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE), and CICAD, represented by James Mack, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD).
In his intervention Ambassador Smith was grateful for this opportunity and thanked CICAD and CICTE for being a great partner to the Bahamian people in providing training and resources in the fight against drugs, the trafficking of small arms and human trafficking, which is becoming a real problem in the Bahamas. With respect to terrorism, Ambassador Smith stated that “it has become a worldwide problem” and “even though we do not see any evidence of it in the Bahamas we recognize that tourism is the deadlock of our financial services and if there is, because we are a soft target, we recognize we need the support of CICTE.”
On his behalf, Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Ramdin, thanked Ambassador Smith for the financial contribution made on behalf of the government and the people of the Bahamas. He highlighted the great task being developed by CICTE and CICAD and stated that “the contribution not only in terms of the quantity but symbolically” is a way of showing the commitment of Caribbean issues, and in this specific case the Bahamas.
This contribution from the Government of the Bahamas coincides with the beginning of the Ninth Regular Session of the CICTE.
