Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Remarks at the Center for Strategic and Internation

[The Patriot]

Readout of Secretary Napolitano's Remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

06-02-2011 04:00 AM

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano today delivered remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Statesmen's Forum: "Building Strong International Security Partnerships: The U.S.-India Homeland Security Dialogue"—highlighting the ongoing partnership between the United States and India to strengthen our homeland security and counterterrorism efforts, as well as the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) broader collaboration with our international partners to ensure our mutual security.

"The evolving threats we face are not limited by international borders," said Secretary Napolitano. "We remain committed to working closely with India and our other international partners to continue our collaborative efforts to enhance the security of our global aviation and supply chain systems, cyber networks, and critical infrastructure."

Secretary Napolitano's remarks follow her trip to India last week, during which she visited Mumbai and New Delhi. In Mumbai, Secretary Napolitano met with security and law enforcement officials and commemorated Indian law enforcement personnel who lost their lives in the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. In New Delhi, she joined Indian Minister of Home Affairs P. Chidambaram to launch the Homeland Security Dialogue—the first comprehensive bilateral dialogue on homeland security issues between the United States and India.

In her remarks today, Secretary Napolitano underscored the shared responsibility of the global community to help combat transnational crime and terrorism that threaten our shared security.

Secretary Napolitano also reiterated the Obama administration's commitment to working with the international community to strengthen cooperation in areas such as aviation and cargo security, information sharing, law enforcement and global supply chain security.

In January, Secretary Napolitano announced a new partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO) to enlist other nations, international bodies and the private sector in increasing the security of the global supply chain—outlining a series of new initiatives to make the system stronger, smarter and more resilient. DHS has been working closely with the international community on initiatives such as Project Global Shield—launched in 2010 by DHS, the WCO, INTERPOL, and the UN Office of Drugs and Crime—which brings together more than 60 participating nations in an unprecedented multilateral law enforcement effort aimed at combating the illicit cross-border diversion and trafficking of precursor chemicals for making improvised explosive devices (IED) by monitoring their cross-border movements.

Earlier this month, Secretary Napolitano also signed a joint statement between the United States and New Zealand on global supply chain security cooperation—further strengthening ongoing collaboration to enhance security while facilitating legitimate trade and travel.

For more information, please visit www.dhs.gov.

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