To enhance international cooperation, the British Ministry of Defence delivered training focussing on Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context (MDWSC). The MDWSC course was co-hosted with the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) at St Ann’s Fort, Garrison, and was enthusiastically attended by representatives of various Barbadian agencies (including BDF, Immigration, Barbados Police Service and Customs and Excise).
Staff from the Regional Security System were joined by senior officials from seven countries in the wider Caribbean:
The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Lt Col John Skliros and Dr Anastasia Filippodou from the UK’s Defence Academy facilitated the week-long course which focussed on assessing local security issues in an international context and the current challenges to state sovereignty.
Participants also studied the importance of governance and how to enhance leadership in the security sector.
The Defence Academy is known for providing excellent higher education for international partners working in defence and security, as well as the British Armed Forces and other UK government departments.
Commodore Errington Shurland, Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force, commented that ‘the MDWSC demonstrates the UK Government’s commitment to our Region, our values and interests.
By this token, as leaders and architects of policy and governance, this course enhances the awareness of external influences that impact the delivery of our various strategic services and mandates.
‘The MDWSC provides a framework for the examination of varied techniques for the management of defence strategies in developed and transitional democracies.
Given the construct of the course, with local and regional stakeholders and participants in various areas of administration and security, the advancement of this sector will be strengthened through the collaborative identification of suitable policies, principles and practices.’
British High Commissioner Scott Furssedonn-Wood added: ‘Recent international events have taught us that no nation stands alone in managing its security and all levels of government in defence and security sectors have many threats to combat.
This course has provided an excellent opportunity for different security agencies from different countries in the Caribbean to come together and deliberate best practices.’