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New Permanent Representative of Panama to the OAS Presents Credentials

The new Permanent Representative of Panama to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Jorge Miranda, today presented to the Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, the credentials that accredit him to the hemispheric institution.

At the ceremony, held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, Ambassador Miranda expressed his "enormous enthusiasm in returning to the house of the Americas, being back at an Organization I have served and worked with very closely for a long time.”

Referring to his appointment by President Juan Carlos Varela, the new representative of Panama stated that, as part of its new foreign policy, "the Government's main objective is to promote the global development agenda, being aware that one of our priorities at this time refers to the preparations for the Summit of the Americas that will be held in Panama next year.” In this respect, the Panamanian diplomat added that "I offer my full willingness, as that of the Permanent Mission, to advance the important work of the Council."

Secretary General Insulza welcomed Ambassador Miranda remembering the contribution that the Panamanian diplomat made to the work of the Hemispheric institution, which he served as OAS Representative in Honduras between 2008 and 2012. "It is an honor to welcome among us someone who has previously been linked to our organization," he said.

The head of the OAS recalled that "as our representative, he did an exceptional job," especially after the coup d’état of June 2009, because "as we were looking for a return to full democracy in Honduras, it was important to maintain communication, and that was the work that Jorge Miranda did. Today, we are grateful for the courage he showed, for the intelligence he applied, for the prudence he used and for his willingness to maintain a connection with all political forces and sectors, which allowed for the normalization of our presence there when the time came, as all the work was done."

The Secretary General thanked President Varela for appointing to represent his country at the OEA a person "of the stature, wisdom, intelligence, serenity and great disposition for work as the Ambassador." His presence, he continued, is "of huge benefit" for the OAS, given the outstanding issues the institution is scheduled to address in the coming months, including the Special General Assembly on Drugs, to be held on September 19 in Guatemala, and one on the Strategic Vision, to be held September 12; the adoption of the Organization’s budget for the next two years; and the preparations for the Summit of the Americas of 2015. "For all these tasks, we hope to keep enjoying the same diligence and the same enthusiasm which you have shown in the past," he concluded.

The ceremony was attended by the President of the Permanent Council and Representative of Saint Lucia, Sonia Johnny, and several Representatives of the Member States.

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-350/14