Partnerships Key To Preserving Stability In RSS Member States
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| Rear Admiral Errington Shurland stressed the importance of partnerships at the RSS Council of Ministers Meeting, at The Harbor Club, Saint Lucia. |
Public-private partnerships
and multilateral cooperation remain key to preserving stability, advancing
development, and safeguarding the shared values of Member States of the
Regional Security System (RSS).
According to RSS Executive
Director, Rear Admiral Errington Shurland, the shifting dynamics and
geopolitical uncertainty of the current era require strong and enduring
partnerships if states are to overcome emerging and increasingly complex
challenges.
Rear Admiral Shurland made
these remarks during his welcome address at the RSS Council of Ministers
Meeting, held on Friday, March 27, 2026, at The Harbor Club in Saint Lucia.
In his address, the RSS head
highlighted the organisation’s achievements through collaboration with a range
of international and regional partners, including the governments of Canada,
the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as
institutions such as the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Inter-American
Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, and CARICOM and its
subsidiary bodies. He noted that these collaborations demonstrate that the
cooperative frameworks already in place serve as “pillars of trust,” enabling
states to collectively address existing challenges.
“In an international system
that is characterised by shared security concerns, and interconnectedness of
criminal organisations across several jurisdictions, international cooperation
remains an essential pillar in successfully managing crime and security,” Rear
Admiral Shurland stressed.
The RSS Executive Director
affirmed that the organisation is prepared to act as a catalyst for
multilateralism and will continue expanding partnerships to strengthen domain
awareness, enhance competencies and cooperation, address corruption and
governance issues, and improve information and intelligence sharing across
jurisdictions.
“The RSS’ upcoming work with
Global Affairs Canada, the Caribbean Development Bank and the European Union
through the Neighbourhood Development International Cooperation Instrument and
the EL PACCTO 2.0 programme, demonstrates renewed commitment to multilateral
engagement rather than global fragmentation. RSS is also co-sponsoring other
initiatives to enhance legislative and procedural frameworks required for
effective law enforcement responses to cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent
crimes, strengthening comprehensive statistical collection and data sharing
systems across criminal justice agencies, and developing a new Strategic Plan
and sustainability model. These will be done with the support of the European
Union and CDB respectively,” he outlined.
Rear Admiral Shurland also
pointed to the RSS’ partnership with the United Kingdom’s One Caribbean Fund
and the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, a collaborative effort with the
United States, as further evidence of the value of strong partnerships in
ensuring the region’s collective security.
