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OAS ACTIVATES NETWORK FOR DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION

The Inter-American Cooperation Network (COOPERANET) fostered by the Organization of American States (OAS) was set in motion during the high-level meeting that took place October 26 & 27, 2009, in Bogotá, Colombia, with 26 delegations from OAS Member States in attendance, as well as other national and international agencies.

The meeting, held under the banner, “The effectiveness of hemispheric cooperation”, gave its full support to COOPERANET. The role of the OAS as a facilitating agent and forum for dialogue on issues of cooperation, opportunities for maximizing regional cooperation—including alternative models—and new tools of information and communication to improve the effectiveness in cooperation were among other issues discussed at the event.

COOPERANET seeks to support continuous dialogue among high-level cooperation authorities in the hemisphere, help implement actions proposed by those high-level authorities, promote the spread of information and knowledge, identify areas of opportunity, as well as collect and communicate lessons learned and examples of good practices.

The OAS will be in charge of the Technical Secretariat of COOPERANET, where other national, regional and international institutions will also participate. Cooperation agencies and authorities from 24 Member States have so far confirmed their participation: Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Chile, El Salvador, United States, Grenada, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname and Uruguay.

The Inter-American Cooperation Network, according to the OAS Assistant Secretary General, Amb. Albert Ramdin, “can potentially be an important mechanism to continue the debate on a more effective hemispheric cooperation structure.”

“We need to establish a cooperation framework that radiates trust and confidence and is capable to attract substantive financial resources to deliver development services to member states in a timely and effective manner to alleviate poverty and to foster social and economic prosperity,” said Amb. Ramdin at the opening session.

Several experts from national cooperation agencies around the world, as well as representatives from international institutions were in attendance at the “Specialized CIDI Meeting of High-Level Cooperation Authorities,” including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, ECLAC, PADF, the Clinton Foundation, the Young Americas Business Trust and the Young Entrepreneurs of the Americas.

Reference: E-351/09