2014News

Dominican takes the chair at OAS

The Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the Organization of American States (OAS), Pedro Verges, has taken the Chair of the Permanent Council of the OAS, held during the past three months by Peru.

Upon receiving the gavel that represents the Council’s authority from his predecessor, Ambassador Verges highlighted the historic ties that bind his nation to the OAS. “For our country, and to me personally, is a great honor to assume the Chair of the Council of this Organization, which for us is of paramount importance, since we were among the first countries that shaped it and have followed all of its institutional history to the present,” he said.

The Dominican diplomat said his country “is engaged in a continuous process of institutional and democratic strengthening which will not rest for a second. And on that basis we will work to strengthen the OAS not only in our territory, but also in the territories of our brother countries vying for the same.”

Ambassador Verges said that during the three months he holds the Chair he will work to strengthen the OAS “as much from the administrative point of view as the institutional point of view, and also in strengthening all the programs of the Organization to promote what it represents.”

Secretary General Insulza recalled that when he took office, eight and half years ago, the Chair of the Permanent Council was held by the Ambassador of Peru, Alberto Borea, who was succeeded by the Dominican Ambassador Roberto Alvarez. “This means that today we are witnessing a complete cycle in the Council, where the 34 countries participating in the Organization have assumed the Chair of the Council.

The handover ceremony, which took place yesterday, Monday 13 January was also attended by the Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin, and several Permanent Representatives of the member countries.

The Permanent Council’s statutes establish that the chair be held by each of the Permanent Representatives in turn, following the alphabetic order in Spanish of the names of their respective countries, and the office of Vice Chair, by identical standards, following reverse alphabetical order. The Vice Chair of the Council will be the Permanent Representative of Venezuela, Ambassador Roy Chaderton.

www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/oas-media-releases/Dominican_Republic_Assumes_Chair_of_the_OAS_Permanent_Council32592.shtml