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OAS ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL CONCLUDES VISIT TO ECUADOR BY EXAMINING NEW CHANNELS OF COOPERATION WITH ECUADOR

Quito, Ecuador. During his recent visit to Ecuador, the Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin, held a series of high-level meetings with government representatives and various national educational institutions.

Ramdin’s visit this past Monday, August 10, as representative of the hemispheric Organization began with his attendance of President Rafael Correa’s second term inaugural ceremony, and later the activities related to the Sixth Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Ecuador held August 12 – 14 in Quito.

During his stay, the Assistant Secretary General met with Ecuadorian Vice President Lenín Voltaire Moreno Garcés to discuss possible ways of furthering cooperation between the OAS and Ecuador, as well as to examine initiatives aimed at finding new opportunities for collaboration by the Organization. In this regard, both dignitaries agreed to develop the assistance provided by the OAS towards persons with disabilities and to support the work carried out by the National Disabilities Council (CONADIS) of Ecuador.

Ramdin highlighted “the innovative approach that the Ecuadorian Government has promoted with respect to the rights of persons with disabilities and the efforts it has been making to defend and involve them in the country’s economic processes.” He expressed his admiration for the “wide spectrum of activities aimed at promoting the education, training, and vocational integration” of these persons, urging that “this positive experience be shared and hopefully extended to other countries of the hemisphere.”

Likewise, Ramdin visited the headquarters of the Ecuadorian Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), where he made a presentation on the hemisphere’s most important current political events and the role that the OAS has played in their development. A core part of his speech was focused on the social and democratic progress achieved in Haiti over the past few months.

The visit of Ambassador Ramdin to the capital of Ecuador also included the signing of a Cooperation Agreement with the Universidad del Pacífico to promote a joint sponsorship of scholarships, the use of information technologies for distance teaching and learning, and the OAS Leo Rowe Pan-American Fund program.

While signing the Agreement, Ramdin highlighted that the Universidad del Pacífico has been recognized as one of the world’s 1000 best business universities, and asserted that the Agreement that was adopted shall make it possible “to work jointly to develop the internal capabilities of the academic institution, not only in terms of the transfer of knowledge but also in terms of opportunities for young people.”

At the end of his visit, the Assistant Secretary General joined in the celebrations of Ecuador’s Bicentennial Anniversary of Independence by remarking that this moment “promotes reflection on the past, present and future of Ecuador and the Americas.”

Reference: E-263/09