WASHINGTON, USA — Sir Ronald Sanders, ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States and to the Organization of American States (OAS), was today installed as Chairman of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI) at the OAS headquarters in Washington, DC.
CIDI is the principal hemispheric forum of the OAS for policy dialogue and cooperation on development, reporting directly to the General Assembly.
In his acceptance remarks, Sir Ronald framed his chairmanship around a single, defining question for the hemisphere:
“How do we create the conditions for business success in the Americas, so that growth reaches our people?” He was unambiguous that the question is a development one, not a market one. “Business is not a rival to development,” he declared. “Business is an integral partner in development. It is our enterprises, above all the micro, small, and medium firms, that create the jobs, the opportunity, and the inclusion that development promises.”
A hemispheric agenda rooted in development
Sir Ronald has organised his Work Plan on three interconnected pillars — Certainty, Capacity, and Capital — held together by the conviction that no member state can advance development alone.
“Development is not one subject among many at the OAS,” he told the Council. “It is the foundation on which the rest of our work stands. Human rights cannot be enjoyed by people who cannot feed their families. Democracy is not sustained where citizens see no prospect of decent work. Security is not secured where young people have no place in the economy of their own country. If we neglect development, we weaken every other pillar of the Inter-American system.”
On the question of size and equity, he was equally direct: “Multilateralism seats us at the same table despite differences in size and level of development. That equality is the foundation of our credibility.”
A lifelong champion of development
Ambassador Sanders is Antigua and Barbuda’s most senior diplomat and one of the Caribbean’s foremost voices on development, multilateralism, and small-state advocacy. He has served as president of the OAS Permanent Council on three separate occasions — a distinction that has equipped him with unparalleled experience in guiding the Organization’s decision-making.
He closed his remarks with a call to the membership: “Every point of arrival is a point of departure. When the time comes for us to depart from this phase of our work on development, I ask you all to help produce meaningful results that our people can see, can feel and can measure.”