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OAS and Costa Rica Sign Agreement to Foster Triangular Technical Cooperation Activities

The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Government of Costa Rica today signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the implementation of triangular technical cooperation activities, which seek to identify specific projects in which Costa Rica can share successful experiences with other countries of the region and further strengthen the working relations and cooperative ties with institutions dedicated to integral development.

During the signing ceremony, which took place at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, the Secretary General of the hemispheric institution, José Miguel Insulza, emphasized the changes in the needs and methods of international cooperation, which have led to a significant evolution over the past two decades, reaching "what today is known as horizontal and triangular cooperation, leaving aside the traditional vertical cooperation."

"The triangular cooperation contemplated in this Memorandum is for us the best way to respond to these changes in order to establish more effective and sustainable cooperation. The role of the OAS is to enable countries to share their experiences and to transfer their knowledge and lessons learned to other neighboring countries," said the leader of the hemispheric institution.

The Secretary General further explained that the development of triangular cooperation in the Hemisphere confirms that many of our countries have already acquired the capacity and have policies and lessons that can be shared. “This is certainly the case of Costa Rica, which has achieved an exemplary development in the areas of modern technology, education and the strengthening of public institutions and has much to contribute in this matter."

Similarly, Secretary General Insulza recalled that the OAS has a set of specialized Inter-American networks of cooperation in areas such as competitiveness, labor administration, education, disaster relief, social protection, energy and climate issues, among others, through which it can enhance the exchange of experiences between Costa Rica and other countries in the Americas.

For his part, the Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the OAS, Edgar Ugalde, explained that with the agreement "we materialize the possibility that we have been exploring for the last several months that countries are able to share experiences in an effective way." "With this agreement, we have created a channel that will not only allow technical cooperation, but will also facilitate the sharing of experiences between countries in the region, an area that we must stimulate."

Ambassador Ugalde also expressed his country's satisfaction with the signing of the memorandum, and called it "a valuable tool that will allow us to share our modest experiences."

The memorandum signed today covers topics relating to education; competitiveness and innovation; micro, small and medium-size enterprises; tourism; sustainable development and social protection, among others.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The B-Roll of the event is available here.

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

Reference: E-152/14