Suriname Assumes Chair of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development of the OAS

The Permanent Representative of Suriname to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Niermala Badrising, today assumed the Chair of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) of the institution, in a ceremony that took place at the headquarters of the institution in Washington, DC.

In the presence of the Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza; the Assistant Secretary General, Albert Ramdin, and various representatives and authorities of the member states, Ambassaodr Badrising received the leadership of the Council from the Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago, Ambassador Neil Parsan. Upon turning over the Chair, Ambassador Parsan recalled that “as member states of the OAS, we have all pledged to work for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all of our peoples. It is undisputed, that the development agenda is fundamentally crucial to the future stability and success of our Hemisphere.”

The Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago related that during the six months of his term, three ministerial meetings were held: in culture, tourism and competiveness. He recalled that his period as Chair was focused on support for small, micro and medium businesses; innovation and business development; and workforce development. Upon concluding his address, Ambassador Parsan said “it was a pleasure for me to have guided this process in the latter half of 2014 and I remain steadfastly committed to doing the work that takes us along the development path for a better future for us all.”

Ambassador Badrising, for her part, congratulated the outgoing Chair for his “determination, vision, and spirit” in advancing the integral development of the Americas during his term. She said that “the Government of Suriname and my delegation are committed to continue the work of CIDI with a high spirit of engagement and action.” In addition, she said that her country would emphasize integral development “with a pragmatic approach” centered on the circumstances, needs and priorities of the member states.

The new Chair of CIDI, who is also the Chair of the Permanent Council of the OAS in the first trimester of 2016, said that her term would look to contribute in three specific aspects. First, in line with the position of her government that the human being is the center of all development activities, she would look to increase access to quality education. Second, said the Ambassador, her mandate would look to continue the work of the previous Chair in supporting the competitiveness of micro, small, and medium businesses. Third, she added, her term would focus on the issue of sustainable development and climate change.

The CIDI reports directly to the General Assembly and is intended to promote cooperation among member states for the furtherance of their integral development and, in particular, to help eliminate extreme poverty. The Council is composed of all member states who meet in regular, special, specialized and/or sectoral meetings.

Today’s ceremony was also attended by the Executive Secretary for Integral Development of the OAS, Sherry Tross.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The B-Roll of the event will be available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at http://www.oas.org.