General
Assembly 1995 Resolutions(Resolution adopted at the eighth plenary session, held on June 8, 1995)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
CONSIDERING:
That the American countries' desire for integration has been strengthened by initiatives for "promoting prosperity through economic integration and free trade" and reaffirmed by the heads of state and government in accordance with the Declaration of Principles of the Summit of the Americas: "Partnership for Development and Prosperity: Democracy, Free Trade, and Sustainable Development in the Americas";
That the Plan of Action of the Summit of the Americas holds that "there is a need to re-assess the ongoing interaction among the region's science and technology (S&T) infrastructure and cooperative mechanisms; to provide impetus for improved cooperation; to reduce barriers to collaboration; to augment the demand for technology; and to disseminate information about technological opportunities using new advances in information technology; and generally to improve communications among the key S&T organizations, researchers in the region, and growing technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises";
That scientific and technological development is a determining factor in achieving the competitiveness needed for successful economic integration;
That free trade and economic integration are key factors for sustainable development in the region;
That the three regional programs of the Executive Secretariat of the Inter-American Council for Education, Science, and Culture (CIECC) are based on the need to reinforce international relations among its member states through scientific and technological, educational, and cultural cooperation; and
That, pursuant to the same Plan of Action, governments will "convene a meeting of ministers responsible for science and technology in the Hemisphere within the next year to assess progress and to promote the Bol?var Program and the OAS Common Market of Scientific and
Technological Knowledge (MERCOCYT) program, to provide the necessary support to improve scientific partnerships and technological ventures in the region, and to explore the possibility of establishing a council on science and technology,"
RESOLVES:
1. To thank the Colombian Government and to accept its offer to host the Meeting of Ministers of Science and Technology in the Hemisphere, to be held in March 1996.
2. To request the General Secretariat of the OAS to use its good offices with the heads of state and government of the countries of the Hemisphere to secure the participation of ministers of science and technology and representatives of the national agencies of science and technology in the Meeting.
3. To instruct the OAS Department of Scientific and Technological Affairs, in its capacity as Technical Secretariat of the Permanent Committee of MERCOCYT, to support the Colombian government and the Chair of the Permanent Committee in all matters relating to the Meeting.
4. To instruct the CEPCIECC Subcommittee on Program and Budget to earmark supporting funds for the Meeting of Ministers out of the Mandates Account and the Contingency Fund.
5. To instruct the Department of Scientific and Technological Affairs to support the Colombian Government in publicizing the Meeting and in convoking it, among the most representative organizations in this field worldwidein particular those in the OECD countriesas well among the other multilateral cooperation organizations, in order to enlist their participation in the strategies arising from that Meeting.