PANAMA CITY, Panama—Assistant Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin of the Organization of American States OAS: OAS arrived in Panama today, ahead of the formal start of the 37th Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly. The Assistant Secretary General said he was very much looking forward to a successful conference, as the hemisphere’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs meet June 3-5 to discuss a wide range of issues of priority for the hemisphere’s citizens.

Panama’s President Martin Torrijos Espino and OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza open the three-day General Assembly Sunday evening. The General Assembly, which is the highest decision-making body of the OAS, is meeting this year under the general theme of Energy for Sustainable Development, at the proposal of the host government of Panama.

Assistant Secretary General Ramdin, who is in charge of the preparations for and the smooth running of the General Assembly, says that it holds particular significance because due to the significant number of elections held in the region during the past year, it will be the first time that a number of the heads of delegation will be meeting their counterparts from the rest of the hemisphere.

“Since the last General Assembly, there have been quite a few changes, with the result that we will be seeing, gathered in Panama, a new collection of Foreign Ministers, many of whom will be meeting each other in the hemisphere’s premier political forum for the first time. The General Assembly obviously presents a golden opportunity for Foreign Ministers to get to know each other better and to work together on the evolving political agenda of the Americas,” Ambassador Ramdin said.

Reference: GA-01