U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Lino Gutierrez and Dr. Alberto R. Abad, Federal Administrator of National Revenue of the Argentine Republic, had signed the declaration of principles on May 9, but the formal agreement was settled in November.

Photo Credit: Christopher P. Quade, U.S. Department of State

U.S. and Omani officials sign the CSI Declaration of Principles on November 19 at the Royal Oman Police Headquarters in Muscat. From left, Eleanor Melamed, Deputy Director, Second Line of Defense Program, Department of Energy; E. Keith Thomson, Assistant Commissioner, Office of International Affairs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Lt. Gen.Malik bin Suleiman al-Ma’amari, Inspector General, Royal Oman Police; and Brigadier Mahmood al-Kiyumi, Director General of Customs, Royal Oman Police.

“The Container Security Initiative is a deterrent to terrorists seeking to use containerized cargo as a conduit for terrorism within the maritime environment,” said Commissioner Bonner. “CSI ports such as the one in Buenos Aires is making U.S. borders more secure and more efficient.”

CBP will deploy a team of officers to be stationed at the port of Buenos Aires to target maritime containers destined for the United States. Argentine Customs officials, working with CBP officers, will be responsible for screening any containers identified as a potential terrorist risk. Separately, CBP announced that Oman intends to participate in the initiative at its port of Salalah.

CBP Assistant Commissioner E. Keith Thomson, Office of International Affairs, and Lieutenant General Malik bin Sulaiman al-Ma'amari, Inspector General of the Royal Oman Police as well as Eleanor Melamed, Deputy Director, Second Line of Defense Program, Department of Energy, signed a declaration of principles on November 19.

The signing brings large-scale and sophisticated radiological detection equipment to identify nuclear material under the Department of Energy’s MegaPorts Initiative at the port of Salalah.

CSI is continuing to expand to strategic locations around the world. Currently, there are 41 operational CSI ports in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North and South America. Approximately 75 percent of cargo containers headed to the U.S. originate in or are transshipped from CSI ports. A total of 24 additional administrations have committed to join CSI and are at various stages of implementation.

CBP’s goal is to have 50 operational CSI ports by the end of 2006. At that time, approximately 90 percent of all transatlantic and transpacific cargo imported into the United States will be subjected to pre-screening. The World Customs Organization, the European Union and the G8 support CSI expansion and have adopted resolutions implementing CSI security measures introduced at ports throughout the world. DB