The minister told the National Assembly that the vulnerability of small Caribbean states to threats from the international environment has long been recognised.

Guyana's position on the South American mainland is no different, and in some cases can be said to be more pronounced: the country being located as it is on an extensive land mass bordered by long stretches of heavily forested territory that is not easily policed.

He noted that Guyana's security is threatened by illicit activities such as drug and firearm trafficking, money laundering, corruption and transnational organised crime.

Limited human and financial resources, he pointed out, impede the fight against these.

The Foreign Minister said the need for international cooperation in suppressing illicit traffic by sea has been recognised in the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

He added that the Guyana/USA Agreement, referred to as the Shiprider Agreement, provides for ship boarding, entry to investigate, overflight, cooperation and assistance.

The Guyana/USA agreement was ratified by the National Assembly.

Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states have expressed support for a multidimensional approach to hemispheric security at several fora, including the Organisation of American States (OAS) General Assembly last year in Barbados and the second high level meeting on the Special Security Concerns of small states.

Insanally noted that they have also favoured the inclusion of such strategy in the Special Conference on Security which is to be held later this year in Mexico.

The minister also told the National Assembly that the agreement seeks to reduce the ability of illicit narcotics traffickers to elude maritime law enforcement agencies, both within and outside of Guyana's territorial waters, as well as to strengthen the capacity of Guyana to enforce its territorial and extra-territorial maritime jurisdiction.

Most notably, he said, the fact that individual CARICOM states have examined and signed bilateral as opposed to multilateral agreements relating to maritime law enforcement, should not be seen as divisive or derogating from their sovereignty but rather as complementing and strengthening the agreements to which these countries may already have been party.

He added that each territory has its own peculiar security concerns and should explore all opportunities for addressing them.