BARBADOS has called on the Organisation of American States (OAS) to intensify its efforts to strengthen institutions in the region.
The call came this week from Carson Browne, permanent secretary in the ministry of economic affairs, during the first subregional workshop on cooperation effectiveness co-hosted by the OAS.
It was an effort by policymakers and practitioners from the Caribbean to improve cooperation effectiveness and promote a more active and better coordinated regional role in international cooperation forums.
“The OAS has an unparalleled opportunity to act as a broker . . . on cooperation effectiveness,” said Browne. “In this regard, the OAS must seek, in its mandates, to intensify its efforts to strengthen institutions within the region.”
Zakaria El Goumiri, of the OAS, indicated that the body was acting as the regional platform to facilitate dialogue and strengthen regional voices on cooperation effectiveness as the region moved forward to the Fourth High Level Forum (HLF4) on aid effectiveness, to take place in Busan, South Korea, in 2011.
Over the next months, the OAS said the plan would be to anchor the regional process in Caribbean and Latin America through a series of subregional workshops beginning with Barbados, to be followed by Guatemala and Ecuador.
The importance of consolidating a participatory global agenda for cooperation effectiveness was highlighted by Eduardo Gonzalez of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Gonzalez encouraged countries to participate in the 2011 Paris Monitoring Survey and to get involved in other existing initiatives.
Keith Gordon of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), outlined the Caribbean perspective on aid effectiveness, and emphasised its importance for the region in terms of ownership, reliable country systems, harmonisation of donor actions, managing for results, accountability of both donors and partners, as well as the implementation of mutual donor/partner assessments of progress.
“A key priority for the region would be to examine each member state’s development plans and to check similarities and concerns to drive cooperation forward,” Gordon said.
Bertram Johnson, of the ministry of foreign affairs of Barbados, presented the final consensus of the Caribbean technical cooperation authorities that addressed critical issues for the region.
(AB)
