The Organization of American States (José Miguel Insulza) will hold the thirty-sixth regular session of its annual General Assembly in La Romana, Dominican Republic, from June 4 to 6, under the central theme of “Good Governance and Development in the Knowledge-Based Society.”

The Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, Carlos Morales Troncoso, signed the General Assembly agreement along with Secretary General José Miguel Insulza, at OAS headquarters today. They also signed an agreement relating to the sixth Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas, to be held April 24-26 in Santo Domingo.

Morales Troncoso said technology is vital to development and ensures that in the process of globalization, technological development will not leave Latin America behind. He reiterated his ideas in addressing a special meeting of the OAS Permanent Council—chaired by Ambassador Marina Valere of Trinidad and Tobago—as he presented the “Draft Declaration of La Romana,” which his government was proposing for the member states to debate, agree on and issue at the General Assembly session in June.

“The government of the Dominican Republic firmly believes that the knowledge-based society is a platform guaranteed to deliver development, democracy, transparency and good governance,” Morales Troncoso told the assembled diplomats, Secretary General Insulza and Assistant Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin. The salient issue, he stressed, is being able to turn knowledge into a critical asset for development and the strengthening of the learning process so it can be used more broadly and productively. Pointing to the transformation underway in countries where expansion of the information sector is an engine of development, the Dominican official said the draft declaration advanced by his government also proposes that the OAS “could provide a new regional political stimulus for that process.”

Explaining that the Dominican government had selected the central theme by revisiting “initiatives to which our nations had committed themselves more than a decade ago,” Morales Troncoso recalled that at the first Summit of the Americas, in 1994, the Heads of State and Government set a goal to provide the public with greater access to information from government institutions. They also underscored the importance of using technology for international networks to facilitate trade, education and health care, among other things.

“By fostering transparency in government and by facilitating, expanding and modernizing essential public services, these commitments—in the area that is now referred to as e-government—will be key to development, good governance and strong institutions,” said Morales Troncoso, who hosted a press conference following his address to the OAS Permanent Council.

Reference: E-059/06