The Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert R. Ramdin, expressed his satisfaction regarding the ongoing preparations for the XL OAS General Assembly, to be held in Lima June 6-8, and carried out by the Government of Peru.

"It is not the first time Peru organizes a General Assembly, and we are certain this will be as successful as the previous ones," said the Assistant Secretary General in a press conference at the headquarters of the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Relations.

Assistant Secretary General Ramdin emphasized the main topic selected by the Government of Peru for the General Assembly, "Peace, Security and Cooperation", which he believes "will give the leaders of the hemisphere a chance to discuss an important issue".

The Assistant Secretary General also highlighted the importance of other events surrounding the General Assembly, such as the meeting of the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT), the Model General Assembly for Youth (MOAS) and especially the dialogues of the Foreign Ministers with representatives of civil society, trade unions and the private sector.

“We need to engage with all other stakeholders in society and that way include them in the decision-making process,” he said.

In the press conference, the Assistant Secretary General also addressed other current issues in the Americas. On Honduras, he said that the OAS “continues to seek solutions”, and “supports the efforts started by the governments of Central America to create the necessary conditions for the readmission of Honduras to the Organization”. He also expressed his hope that the Truth Commission will be able to move forward along the path defined by the Tegucigalpa-San José Accord.

On recent events in Nicaragua, Ambassador Ramdin expressed his confidence that “the Nicaraguan authorities will find a way to solve this situation through peaceful means, dialogue and following legality.”

In closing, the Assistant Secretary General defended the multilateralism represented by the OAS. “You can be convinced that the OAS will use all mechanisms at its disposal to keep facilitating peace, prosperity and stability along the Hemisphere. No country can solve its problems on its own nowadays, be it rich or poor, big or small. That is why we need strong multilateralism”.

For more information on the XL OAS General Assembly please visit http://www.oas.org/en/40ga/

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-133/10