WILLEMSTAD - On Friday, February 14, the head of the Naval Intelligence of Colombia visited CZMCARIB (Dutch Navy) and the Coast Guard Caribbean.

In recent years there has been a relationship of trust and good cooperation in the operational area. There is a need from both countries to expand this to more intensive cooperation in sharing and analyzing information.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in 2015 offers sufficient scope for this. However, coordination is still needed to shape the process efficiently. The agreement was reached on this during the visit and recorded in a so-called Declaration of Intent. The process of efficient information sharing will be worked out in a joint working group over the next six months.

In recent months, various drug interceptions have been successfully completed by shared information from the Colombian Navy Intelligence. In addition, Zr. Ms Groningen participated for the third time in Operation Orion, a Colombian-led anti-drug operation in which the operational staffs of both countries also work together.