August 23, 2016: The Ministry of National Security hosted a Media Launch of the Twelfth Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (XII CDMA) on Monday 22nd August, 2016 at the Ministry’s office at the International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain.
The first CDMA was convened in 1995 in Williamsburg, United States of America and has since been rotated among the member states every two years. Subsequent Conferences were held in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Canada, Bolivia, Uruguay and Peru.
Trinidad and Tobago was elected chair of the XII CDMA at the XI Conference which was held in Arequipa, Peru in October 2014. Major General (Ret’d) the Honourable Edmund Dillon will serve as President of the XII Conference and Mr. Carl Francis will serve as Secretary General of the XII CDMA.
The Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas provides a valuable forum for dialogue among thirty-four (34) countries of the Hemisphere and will foster mutual knowledge, analysis, debate and exchange of ideas and experiences on defence and security. The CDMA is being hosted at a time when the CARICOM region and the rest of the hemisphere face common threats to national security which require collaboration and cooperation among hemispheric partners. In this regard, the CDMA provides an important forum for Ministers with responsibility for defence in the Americas, to discuss experiences and ideas on how to best protect their populations.
Trinidad and Tobago, in its role as host country has proposed as the theme of the XII CDMA, Strengthening Defence and Security Cooperation in the Hemisphere in an Increasing Volatile Global Environment.
Discussions at the Conference will be organised around the following three axes:
1. Thematic Axis I – The Security and Defence of the Americas in a Changing International Environment: The Evolving Role of the Armed Forces;
2. Thematic Axis II – Environmental Protection and Resilience;
3. Thematic Axis III – Hemispheric Security and Defence Cooperation Policy: Beginning with Strengthened Humanitarian Emergency Assistance.
One of the matters the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago will be placing on the table for consideration at the Conference is the development of a Hemispheric security and defence policy, starting with a collective response mechanism to provide humanitarian emergency assistance in the aftermath of a natural disaster. It is envisioned that this humanitarian emergency assistance response policy would lay the groundwork for a wider defence and security policy to be developed for the Hemisphere.
The Ministry of National Security will also use the opportunities presented at the CDMA to expand its defence network, by seeking new partnerships and avenues for cooperation and collaboration with other defence forces and defence institutions across the Hemisphere, in order to facilitate capacity building, and seek out training opportunities.
The Twelfth Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas (XII CDMA) will take place from October 10th–12th, 2016 in Port of Spain. The event is an historic one as this is the first time that Trinidad and Tobago will host the CDMA. The Conference will be made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of National Security, the XII CDMA Secretariat and sponsors from corporate Trinidad and Tobago, making the initiative a true national effort.
From left: Secretary General of the XII CDMA, Mr. Carl Francis; Minister of National Security, Major General (Ret d) the Honourable Edmund Dillon; and Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier General Rodney Smart.
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For futher information please contact:
The Corporate Communications Unit (CCU)
Ministry of National Security
868-624-5771