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Press Advisory


Meeting of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism Will Explore New Alternatives for Cooperation

  March 15, 2011

The Eleventh Regular Session of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) will take place this Thursday, March 17, at the headquarters of the Organization of American Sates (OAS) in Washington, DC. This ministerial gathering will bring together the principal authorities on the issue of combating terrorism in the Member States of the Organization in order to adopt measures and generate cooperation to prevent, combat and eliminate this threat.

The inaugural ceremony that will take place at 9:30 EDT (13:30 GMT) in the Hall of the Americas will feature the participation of the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza; the Chair of CICTE and Minister of National Security of the Bahamas, Orville A.T. Turnquest; and the Executive Director of the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), Lynne Anne Williams. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, the Environment, and Export Development of Grenada, Karl I. J. Hood, will also attend the meeting and will assume the chairmanship of CICTE for the 2011-2012 period.

In the framework of the session, the Ninth Meeting of the National Point of Contact of the CICTE will also take place on Friday, March 18, and will evaluate opinions to strengthen the cooperation between Member States and the United Nations Security Council. The National Point of Contact (NPC) is the principal professional-level liaison between the OAS and the Member States governments. The person(s) assigned to this position by their government have policy and/or operational responsibilities directly related to the international coordination of national security and specifically to counter-terrorism activities.

The Inaugural Session of the event will be open to the press, and upon its conclusion the speakers will be available for interviews. The remainder of the meeting will be closed to the press.

WHAT: Inaugural Session of the Eleventh Regular Session of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE)

WHEN: Thursday, March 17, 9:30 EDT (13:30 GMT)

WHERE: Hall of the Americas

17th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20006

Reference: AVI-047/11