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Gov’t to Develop National Security Strategy

March 27, 2004

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Minister of National Security, Dr. Peter Phillips, has announced that steps were being taken to develop a clearly defined National Security Strategy (NSS), as the country continued to grapple with a variety of security challenges. He said the Ministry hoped to present the completed strategy to Cabinet by September of this year.
The development of the NSS, he said, was influenced by the Ministry’s determination to take account of the changes that have occurred in the international and local environment, and to determine the status and range of the threats that existed.
“The purpose is to forge stronger links between the various government ministries, departments and agencies, whose mandate and operation have some potential for contributing to overall national security efforts,” Dr. Phillips told journalists, who attended at press briefing on March 26 at the Ministry in New Kingston.
The objectives, he stated, were to create a single strategic document and outlook, which pulled together the different work plans of the various state agencies and raise consciousness of their role in national security, and to build a network of active collaboration between the various agencies of government in the collection, sharing and processing of information.
Dr. Phillips said it was hoped that the discussions would help to determine, “whether for example, we need to redesign or otherwise change our national intelligence infrastructure, [and] whether or not there are other institutions which need to be established to facilitate the smooth exchange of information or to coordinate operations.”
A steering committee, headed by former Chief of Staff of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Rear Admiral Peter Brady and comprised of senior officials in key government agencies and departments, has been established to lead consultations for the development of the NSS.
The departments to be represented on the steering committee are: the Ministry of Finance, the JDF and the Solicitor General’s Department. The effort is also being supported by a joint advisory group of security specialists from the United States of America, United Kingdom and Canada.

Last Updated: March 27, 2004

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