Incoming CARICOM Chairman PM Douglas and OAS Assistant SG meet

His Excellency Albert R. Ramdin, OAS Assistant Secretary General (left) and the Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis (Photos: Juan Manuel Herrera/OAS)

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JUNE 16TH 2011 (CUOPM) – OAS cooperation programs and development projects in CARICOM countries, the preparation work towards the 2012 Sixth Summit of the Americas in Colombia and economic challenges faced by all CARICOM states were among issues discussed Monday between St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, the Incoming Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and His Excellency Ambassador Albert Ramdin, Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), in Washington, DC.

During the meeting it was also agreed that the principal areas of concern for the Caribbean are: job creation, public security, skills training, and capacity building (education).

Dr. Douglas also identified the tourism sector as an area requiring significant support, given increasing competition in the sector, combined with the current global economic constraints.

His Excellency Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin, OAS Assistant Secretary General (left) Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis (center) and Ambassador Jacinth Henry-Martin, Permanent Representative of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the OAS (right)

Ambassador Ramdin was quoted as saying that, “the OAS will work to strengthen support mechanisms for tourism development programs in the Caribbean.”

CARICOM comprises approximately 45 percent of the membership of the OAS, and according to Ramdin, “Issues affecting CARICOM will continue to be taken very seriously at the hemispheric institution.”

Prime Minister Douglas, who was accompanied by St. Kitts and Nevis’ Permanent Representative to the OAS, Her Excellency Mrs. Jacinth Henry-Martin, assumes the chairmanship on CARICOM at its meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis in July.