00:00Trinidad and Tobago was represented by Foreign and Karakom Affairs Minister Sean Sobers at
00:05a ministerial on the resurgence of political terrorism, which took place in Washington,
00:10D.C., and was hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke during the opening
00:16ceremony.
00:17We assembled a global coalition, working with many of the friends that are represented
00:21here in this room today, and we destroyed the ISIS caliphate, we killed al-Baghdadi
00:26and al-Zahari and bin Laden, and we built intelligence and law enforcement systems capable of anticipating
00:33and stopping attacks before the public even hears about them.
00:38Every country represented here today has disrupted a terrorist threat at some point emanating from
00:43this source.
00:45Secretary Rubio gave specific examples of progress in the U.S. and Europe.
00:49To a very great extent, our counterterrorism strategy has worked.
00:55The threat has not disappeared, of course.
00:58It will continue to exist, particularly so long as we tolerate immigration systems that
01:02imports these threats directly into our respective homelands.
01:06But this threat has been severely diminished.
01:09The world looks very different today because of it.
01:12For far too long, however, our counterterrorism doctrine has had a blind spot.
01:17A blind spot when it comes to extremist violence from the political left.
01:22In a statement, the Foreign and Karakom Affairs Ministry said that Trinidad and Tobago is among
01:27the selected nations invited to participate in high-level discussions to strengthen international
01:33cooperation to address emerging threats posed by politically motivated terrorism.
01:38Secretary Rubio said that over 60 nations participated in the conference.
01:43Today's far-left terrorists can raise money in one country.
01:47They can host their communications in a second country.
01:50They can receive training in a third country.
01:53They can recruit militants in a fourth country.
01:55And then, together, strike a target in a fifth country.
02:00And so we have no choice but to confront this menace together.
02:04We will either cooperate across our borders, or the terrorists will continue to exploit the
02:09gaps between them.
02:11Under President Trump, for the first time, the United States is building the infrastructure,
02:16the partnership, and the strategy to defeat the scourge of far-left terror.
02:22The Foreign and Karakom Affairs Ministry said the government of Trinidad and Tobago recognizes
02:26that terrorism, extremism, and politically motivated violence poses significant threats
02:33to democratic institutions, public safety, and economic stability.
02:37The Ministry added that, on behalf of Prime Minister Calma Passat-Besessa and the government,
02:42Minister Sobers expressed sincere appreciation to Secretary Rubio and the Government of the United States
02:48for, quote, the invitation and the opportunity to collaborate with international partners
02:53on this critical issue affecting the global community, end quote.
02:58Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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