Minister of International Affairs and International Commerce, Senator the Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith, has congratulated Suriname’s Minister of International Affairs, Worldwide Enterprise and Worldwide Cooperation, His Excellency Albert Ramdin, on being elected the brand new Secretary Basic of the Group of American States (OAS).
“It’s with the best pleasure and pleasure that I prolong, on behalf of the Authorities and folks of Jamaica, heartiest congratulations to His Excellency Albert Ramdin of the Republic of Suriname on his election as the primary Caribbean nationwide to the place of Secretary Basic of the OAS,” the Minister mentioned.
Senator Johnson Smith, who led Jamaica’s delegation to the Particular Basic Meeting, delivered an handle on March 10.
“All of us want the OAS to ship on its core mandate of securing peace and justice, selling solidarity, strengthening collaboration, and defending the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States, as outlined in Article 1 of the OAS Constitution,” the Minister mentioned.
She identified that tasked with such consequential obligations, the OAS can not and should not fail.
The Minister mentioned Jamaica has each confidence, subsequently, that Minister Ramdin has the requisite expertise and experience to construct consensus amongst Member States, to boost synergies among the many Inter-American our bodies and businesses, and to successfully interact the personal sector and civil society to deal with points comparable to poverty, meals and power insecurity, local weather change, irregular migration and violence towards ladies and women.
She mentioned that her Delegation appears to be like ahead to working with Secretary Basic-elect Ramdin and all Member States of the OAS to grasp the shared imaginative and prescient for the development of the hemisphere.
“It’s only via dialogue and collective motion that we are able to obtain our aims and be certain that the OAS stays a viable multilateral discussion board,” the Minister mentioned.
Minister Ramdin, who previously served as Assistant Secretary Basic of the OAS between 2005 and 2015, has been elected to function the Secretary Basic for the time period 2025 to 2030.
Senator Johnson Smith took the chance to pay tribute to Secretary Basic, Luis Almagro, for his decade of service to the OAS.
“Secretary Basic Almagro’s stewardship of and advocacy on behalf of the Organisation has – even when controversial – ensured that the rules enshrined within the OAS Constitution, significantly across the rule of legislation, democracy and human rights, are upheld as necessary enhances to addressing safety and reaching sustainable growth,” she mentioned.
The Minister additionally lauded the Secretary Basic for his help with respect to scholarships in language coaching, science, engineering, trainer coaching, administration, capacity-building and safety.
The flagship New Path Mission was one of many tasks applied in Jamaica that allowed a number of of the younger individuals to obtain coaching in revolutionary entrepreneurship.
Senator Johnson Smith informed the delegates that progress inside the area can’t be realised, “if we aren’t all working collectively and supporting one another”.
“The disaster in our sister nation, Haiti, requires our sustained, devoted consideration and we should not relaxation till now we have given Haiti the total help that it deserves, in order that peace and stability may be restored and odd Haitians can stay in peace and concord,” she mentioned.
She added that Jamaica, together with the Caribbean Neighborhood, has been working assiduously with this goal in thoughts, and “we’re grateful for the OAS’ uncompromising help on this regard. I urge Member States, companions and the worldwide group to proceed to play a supporting position to Haiti because the nation takes steps in the direction of attaining lasting peace and stability, and the holding of free, truthful and clear elections”.
Commenting on the state of affairs unfolding in fellow OAS Member State Guyana, whose sovereignty and territorial integrity continues to be threatened by the actions of Venezuela on the border, the Minister mentioned: “I want to reaffirm publicly and categorically, Jamaica’s unwavering help for Guyana and to underscore our condemnation of any act that seeks to worsen or escalate tensions.
“We encourage reliance on the method earlier than the Worldwide Court docket of Justice and urge restraint and dialogue as we search to uphold the designation of our area as a Zone of Peace,” the Minister mentioned.
Whereas in Washington, Senator Johnson Smith held bilateral conferences with the Minister of International Affairs of Peru,
His Excellency Elner Shialer; Minister of International Affairs of Uruguay, His Excellency Omar Paganini and President of the Inter-American Fee on Human Rights (IACHR), José Luiz Caballero.
