The early phases of the development of a system for sharing information between Melanesian Spearhead Group countries began with a workshop at the Holiday Inn in Suva this morning.
The workshop, attended by various stakeholders involved in national security at some level or the other, will first have to produce a National Policy Framework for information sharing before such a system is developed regionally.
The two days meeting is organised by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
When opening the meeting Ministry of Defence permanent secretary Jale Fotofili stressed the importance of MSG countries sharing information in the face of global challenges.
“We need to share information in a timely manner, in order to counter transnational crime such as the illegal movement of people, arms, drugs, goods, flora, fauna and other illegal materials,” he said.
“The issues of the 21st century such as globalisation, the evolving security landscape and the creation of this borderless world brings with it new security concerns with its diverse implications to our domestic security and health challenging our sovereignties.
“The emergence of proscribed activities across borders with our limited capabilities warrants a cohesive and integrated approach to deal with such issues upfront.
“A classic example is the circulation of hard drugs and other pertinent activities are indications of the prevalence of advanced crimes that we face today.
“The global trade in illegal drugs is worrisome in the region given the various security concerns attached to such trade such as money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking and arms smuggling.”
The meeting arises from the MSG leader’s endorsement in principle of a regional approach to sharing information at their recent meeting in Suva.
Sharing of information covers areas of:
· Surveillance and monitoring of countries in terms of border security
· Protection of our natural resources
· Coordinate response to natural resources
· Coordinate response to natural calamities and crisis management
· Proactive approaches to health issues
· Sharing intelligence for the protection of our respective sovereignties
· Safety and security of our region
At the workshop, government ministries and departments are required to map out strategies to consolidate information for coordinating and controlling invaluable information that is critical for decision making, coordinate responses and deployment of resources for enhancing collaboration and heightened security within the region.
Outcomes of the workshop will be presented at the special Senior Officials Meeting of the MSG (SOM) in June/July of this year.
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