Above: the council in Washington (OAS Photo/Maria Patricia Leiva)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Panama has assumed the chair of the Organization of American States Permanent Council.
Panama’s Permanent Representative to the OAS, Arturo Vallarino, officially received the gavel and assumed the chair on Monday.
“It is an honor for my country to contribute to the efficiency of this organization through this position that we will assume for the next three months,” he said.
“During the period of the chairmanship of Panama we will have to pay special attention to the issue of hemispheric security, both in terms of the prevention of crime and violence and natural disasters,” he said. ”
The OAS will hold its 43rd General Assembly in June in Guatemala, under the theme of violence and drugs in the hemisphere.
Vallarino succeeds Denis Moncada, the Ambassador of Nicaragua, in the post.