Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PORTOFSPAIN1123
2006-09-22 20:49:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Port Of Spain
Cable title:  

THE DELAWARE/T&T PARTNERSHIP: TRANSFORMATIONAL DIPLOMACY IN

Tags:  PGOV MARR PINR TD 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 001123 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV MARR PINR TD

SUBJECT: THE DELAWARE/T&T PARTNERSHIP: TRANSFORMATIONAL DIPLOMACY IN
ACTION


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 001123

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV MARR PINR TD

SUBJECT: THE DELAWARE/T&T PARTNERSHIP: TRANSFORMATIONAL DIPLOMACY IN
ACTION



1. SUMMARY: Delaware Governor Ruth Minner's recent visit to T&T
under the auspices of DOD's State Partnership Program was
extraordinarily successful. The Delaware/T&T partnership should
serve as a model not only for expanding military to military
relationships but for effecting transformational diplomacy of the
best sort in a civilian context. In the case of Delaware and T&T,
reciprocal visits, joint military training and collaborative
planning on shared problems and interests such as crime prevention,
drug interdiction, disaster preparedness and response and education
refute the popular Caricom view that the US ignores the Caribbean
region. In addition, this and other state partnerships can be
effective tools for expanding the foreign affairs constituency
within the US and consequently increasing public support for US
foreign policy goals. END SUMMARY.


2. The September 12 to 15 visit to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) by
Delaware Governor Ruth Minner and members of her administration was
the latest outcome of a program which appears to be a model of
transformational diplomacy. The visit was undertaken under the
auspices of the State Partnership Program, an initiative founded in
1993 by the National Guard Bureau, a component of the US Department
of Defense (DOD). The program, which pairs up State National Guard
elements with countries around the world, is primarily designed to
foster and encourage military-to- military relationships, but also
makes funds available for broadening state/country contacts and
activities over time through the promotion and inclusion of
military/civilian exchanges and even civilian/civilian programs and
initiatives.


3. Delaware's partnership program with T&T got underway in July
2005 and has thrived beyond either partners wildest expectations.
Whereas many state/country partnerships never progress beyond the
military-to- military relationship, the Delaware/T&T partnership has
broken through that psychological barrier already. In less than 15
months, over a dozen "engagements" have taken place. These have
included orientation visits to T&T by senior Delaware National Guard
officers and reciprocal visits to Delaware by high ranking officers

of the T&T Defense Force. Exchange visits have taken place by
Delaware and T&T officials responsible for port security as well as
by teams charged with emergency management and disaster response and
preparedness. Other engagements have focused on engineering topics,
on reserve force training, on air operations and air guard
development, and on senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) leadership
development. In a government-to- government exchange, a delegation
from the GOTT Ministry of National Security has visited Delaware;
and, in an initiative designed to boost cultural ties, the T&T
Defense Force Steel Orchestra has even performed in Delaware.


4. Governor Minner was accompanied by an impressive array of both
military and civilian officials from her administration, including
the Delaware National Guard Adjutant-General, National Guard Army
and Air Force Chiefs of Staff, the State Attorney General, Director
of Homeland Security and Director of Budgets and Management, among
others. They called on the President, the Prime Minister, The
Minister of National Security, The Minister of Education and the
President of the Senate, and observed the Upper House of Parliament
in session. Governor Minner took a helicopter tour of the Point
Lisas Industrial Estate, the engine of T&T's oil/gas-driven economy,
while the military members of her delegation visited the
headquarters of the T&T Defense Force.


5. In their one-on-one exchanges with GOTT officials and in round
table discussions, the Delaware visitors laid plans for Delaware/T&T
collaboration in the areas of national security and
counter-terrorism, particularly as these relate to the Cricket World
Cup Tournament to be hosted by the Caribbean nations in March/April
2007; drug interdiction; drug demand reduction; criminal
rehabilitation; education; and natural disaster preparedness and
response (Note: both Tobago and Delaware have suffered hurricane
damage in recent years). In addition, plans are afoot to have small
law enforcement units undergo reciprocal training in Delaware and
T&T. Finally, in Tobago, the hub of T&T's tourist industry, the
Delaware delegation discussed with local officials the possibility
of establishing a Delta Airlines link between Delaware and Tobago's
own International Airport by way of Atlanta (Note: Delta is
scheduled to inaugurate regular non-stop flights between Atlanta and
Trinidad's International Airport on December 1).


6. At a reception for the Delaware delegation hosted by the
Minister of National Security, the warmth of the relationship
between the Delaware delegation and the GOTT Officials was palpable,
matching the substantial reciprocal benefits which both parties
recognize have already flowed and will continue to flow to them from
this partnership. According to Major Jason Schrank who serves as
the Traditional Commander Activity (TCA) Coordinator at post, the
lion's share of the funding for the Delaware/T&T partnership comes
from Southern Command as well as partially from DOD's National Guard

PORT OF SP 00001123 002 OF 002


Bureau and Delaware's State Treasury. However, the GOTT made a
substantial contribution to cover the cost.


7. COMMENT: According to Major Schrank, the majority of the
countries in Southern Command's area of responsibility participate
in DOD's State partnership program. However, the Delaware/T&T
partnership is generally regarded as one of the most dynamic in the
region and one bringing great synergistic benefits to both partners.
In addition, post believes that this partnership fulfills a number
of other bilateral and broader foreign policy objectives: it is a
prime illustration of transformational diplomacy in action; it is
one more example which helps us counter Prime Minister Patrick
Manning's recent criticism that the US has tended to ignore T&T and
the Caribbean region; and the state partnership program, if
implemented as effectively as the Delaware/T&T partnership, can
serve as an important tool for increasing public support for US
foreign policy goals. END COMMENT.