Panama City, April 11 (teleSUR-RHC) Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, said she was happy that the United States has agreed to a Caribbean Security Summit which could be held as early as June at a venue to be decided.

During CARICOM-U.S. Summit at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, Persad-Bissessar called for the Summit to deal with the growing number of issues, which could affect the Caribbean island states, if not checked.

Persad-Bissessar, who is the lead Prime Minister on Crime and Security, initiated discussions with United States President Barack Obama. Following the Summit, Persad and her delegation left for Panama for the Seventh Summit of the Americas which started on Friday morning.

In her submissions to Obama, Persad-Bissessar believed that all parties should evaluate Caribbean and U.S. Security. She said the time was now for all parties to critically review, rethink and reform the approach to collaboration between our region and the U.S.

The T&T Prime Minister said there was a clear and present threat which now exists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and the Foreign Terrorist Fighters. She added that a number of persons have been identified as leaving CARICOM Member States to become Foreign Terrorist Fighters.

General Kelly, of the U.S. SOUTHCOMM, has said that those young radicalized CARICOM citizens could return with substantial terrorist skills in asymmetric warfare.

Persad-Bissessar pointed out that the war cannot be won without shared intelligence. “We must work together for the security of your people and ours.” Persad-Bissessar said CARICOM was deeply concerned about recent information from the Commander of US Southern Command. The Commander, she said, spoke of the draw down of the already decreased naval assets of SOUTHCOMM.

This comes at a time of an increase in the illegal trade in small arms, the region’s daily fight against narc-terrorism and human trafficking, and the global threat posed by ISIS. “With these threats against our security, a great deal of anxiety is building, because the assets to defend our borders are being reduced and some of us have none at all.”