A proposed partnership between Bermuda and the US Coast Guard is one step closer to reality.

The benefits of a relationship have been mentioned before but Premier Ewart Brown met with two US Congressmen this weekend to discuss it again and plans to meet with them again later this month.

Dr. Brown, along with Deputy Premier Paula Cox met with U.S. Congressman Bennie Thompson and US Congressman G.K. Butterfield and discussed a variety of topics including a potential partnership between Bermuda and the US Coast Guard.

The Premier said: "This is a vitally important issue because we have a lot of room for improvement in this area. I think improving the way we patrol the waterways will help better protect our neighbourhoods from the illegal importation of drugs and guns."

The Premier's comments come in the wake of 25-year-old Shaki Crockwell's murder on August 23. The Bermuda Hogges player was shot once in his neck at a secluded spot along the railway trail on Loyal Hill in Devonshire. Investigations into the murder are ongoing.

The Premier's meeting with the two Congressmen was critical as Mr. Thompson is Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, which the US Coast Guard falls under, and Mr. Butterfield is the Congressional representative for North Carolina which has the closest Coast Guard station to Bermuda.

The four leaders plan to meet in Washington later this month when the Premier and Deputy Premier visit the US for Congressional Black Caucus

Congressmen Thompson and Butterfield are both members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The Deputy Premier said: "It was a very fruitful discussion in more than one way. Clearly there was an identity of interest on a myriad of topics and there are many issues that we can work collaboratively on — Bermuda and her people can only be the beneficiaries. I look forward to the dialogue as we continue to build on our strategic partnership to our joint mutual benefit."

Dr. Brown added that the "consistent willingness" from American lawmakers to partner with Bermuda is proof of a mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries.

This is not the first time a visit to Washington has included talks about extending the US Coast Guard's activity in Bermuda. Former Premier Alex Scott brought it up in meetings in 2006.