OAS Secretary General Attends CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting

Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza

ZIZ News…July 1, 2011 – The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, is in St. Kitts and Nevis to participate in the 32nd Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Secretary General Insulza today will begin his visit to St. Kitts and Nevis, the last Caribbean country to join the OAS, with bilateral meetings with that country’s Prime Minister, Denzil Douglas, and Foreign Minister Sam Condor. The Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis recently requested the OAS to observe the Nevis Island Assembly elections on July 11, and this issue is expected to form part of the discussions with Prime Minister Douglas and Foreign Minister Condor.

During his formal interaction with CARICOM Heads of Government on July 2, Secretary General Insulza will have an opportunity to exchange views with regional leaders on hemispheric developments and on matters relating to the work of the OAS in various CARICOM countries, particularly capacity building in the area of security – an issue of concern to regional governments.

In this regard, it should be noted that in the Declaration of San Salvador on Citizen Security in the Americas, issued at the 41st Regular Session of the General Assembly of the OAS in El Salvador, Member States have convened the Third Meeting of Ministers of Public Security (MISPA III), which, for the first time will be held in a CARICOM country- Trinidad and Tobago- from November 17 to 18, 2011.

Along with President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, the head of the hemispheric Organization will also address issues pertaining to the upcoming Sixth Summit of the Americas to be held in Cartagena, Colombia, in April 2012.

Since his election in May 2005, Secretary General Insulza has participated in all of the annual summits of CARICOM Member States.