USA / GRENADA – The Permanent Representative of Grenada to the Organization of American States (OAS), Yolande Smith, has assumed the interim chair of the OAS Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI).
Ambassador Smith recalled that the leaders of the region recently adopted a digital transformation agenda at the IX Summit of the Americas. “My delegation looks forward to working with member states to engage in a series of concrete discussions on hemispheric priorities and good practices which can lead to enhanced regional cooperation under a theme of digital transformation,” the Caribbean diplomat explained.
For her part, the Permanent Representative of Panama and outgoing chair, María del Carmen Roquebert, highlighted the advancement of women in OAS leadership positions, recalling that her predecessor as chair of CIDI was ambassador Audrey Marks of Jamaica, while her successor is ambassador Smith.
“The regional challenges compounded by the pandemic have been guiding the work of the OAS and therefore CIDI. We have a collective responsibility to ensure that we all recover,” added ambassador Roquebert.
The chair of CIDI rotates among member states every six months.