WASHINGTON, DC – Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Sir Ronald Sanders, was on Monday installed as chairman of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI).
Sir Ronald SandersCIDI is the principal hemispheric forum of the OAS for policy dialogue and cooperation on development, reporting directly to the General Assembly and Sanders in his acceptance speech said his chairmanship would be framed around a single, defining question for the hemisphere.
“How do we create the conditions for business success in the Americas, so that growth reaches our people?,” he asked, noting that question is a development one.
“Business is not a rival to development. Business is an integral partner in development. It is our enterprises, above all the micro, small, and medium firms, that create the jobs, the opportunity, and the inclusion that development promises.”
Sir Ronald said he has organised his Work Plan on three interconnected pillars, namely certainty, capacity, and capital held together by the conviction that no member state can advance development alone.
“Development is not one subject among many at the OAS. It is the foundation on which the rest of our work stands. Human rights cannot be enjoyed by people who cannot feed their families. Democracy is not sustained where citizens see no prospect of decent work.
“Security is not secured where young people have no place in the economy of their own country. If we neglect development, we weaken every other pillar of the Inter-American system.”
On the question of size and equity, he was equally direct, noting that “multilateralism seats us at the same table despite differences in size and level of development. That equality is the foundation of our credibility.”
