WASHINGTON, DC – The Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Albert Ramdin, said the international institution will come out stronger from the upcoming Fifth Summit of the Americas, to be held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17-19.
Ambassador Ramdin highlighted that the OAS, as the organization comprising all countries in the Americas, will be even “more relevant” after the dialogue among Heads of State and Government in Port-of-Spain.
“If we want to deal with the many challenges the Americas face, countries need to work together,” he said. Ramdin said it was “critically important” for regional leaders “to meet and talk” about the issues in their countries.
Ramdin took part in a conference organized by the American University’s Council on Latin America, in Washington, DC, where he also highlighted that the Summit in Trinidad y Tobago will take place at a particularly significant time, because “the foundations upon which this continent are based are changing.”
The Assistant Secretary General mentioned that all 34 leaders attending the Summit represent democratically elected governments, societies in the continent have room for different voices, and the region recently enjoyed unprecedented economic growth. “While we have made a lot of progress, a lot of challenges remain,” he added.
Ramdin explained that the Summit of the Americas is “critically important”, particularly in four aspects: As it is the first held in a Caribbean country, the area will reaffirm its commitment to the Americas; the political landscape in the region has changed, with two thirds of the leaders attending their first Summit and new types of leadership developing; the region faces “critical challenges” such as energy, food and environmental crises, as well as the financial crisis, that should be dealt with “head on”; and US President Barack Obama will attend his first Summit facing a significant expectation of dialogue.
The extent to which those expectations are fulfilled will help measure the success of the Summit, said the OAS Assistant Secretary General.
Ramdin also called for the “institutionalization” of the Summit of the Americas inside the “Hemispheric Architecture for Dialogue”. The best place for the Summit, he said, is within in the OAS. He suggested that the Summit take the place of the OAS General Assembly every four years.
The Conference also featured Ambassadors John Maisto, former US Permanent Representative to the OAS, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and Anthony Quainton, who led US Embassies in Nicaragua, Kuwait and Peru.
Maisto, who was also White House coordinator for the Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico, 2004, and Mar del Plata, Argentina, 2005, said the financial crisis should be “the number one issue” in Trinidad and Tobago. Leaders should find solutions to challenges such as the need for economic stimulus in the region while maintaining social programs, avoiding protectionism and reinforcing the role of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Quainton also highlighted that President Obama will attend his first Summit of the Americas without the “heavy baggage” from past tensions between the US and other countries in the region. Ambassador Quainton said the offer of dialogue from the US Administration “is real” and it will be presented in Trinidad and Tobago. Therefore, he added, the governments in Latin America and the Caribbean should be ready “to say yes”.
