Santo Domingo. The Secretary for Access to Rights and Equity of the Organization of American States, Maricarmen Plata, thanked on November 17 the hospitality, commitment and support of the authorities of the Dominican Republic in the preparation stage for the V Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities of Social Development.
The main objective of the ministerial and high-level meetings is to provide a forum for substantive policy dialogue among the member states on issues of hemispheric interest.
They are a space where the governmental authorities of those States meet to identify common priorities for regional cooperation and establish the OAS work agenda, in order to support them in advancing those priorities.
Carmen Plata said that the current times have been times of great challenges and it is a great joy to finally be able to meet in person and that the objective of the work in this context is to support each of their ministries and agencies of welfare, development and social inclusion in the implementation of activities aimed at the execution of projects and programs at the national or regional level.
He stressed that the purpose of these meetings is «the exchange of experiences and knowledge among officials of the agencies responsible for the social portfolio of the OAS Member States and in strengthening institutional capacities that address to have the best teams and implementing social policy in our countries».
With these meetings, the sectoral authorities are expected to approve the priorities and common lines of action that will guide the regional agenda on social development and the work of the OAS in advancing these priorities and complementing the 2030 Agenda.
This dialogue seeks to identify regional trends and priorities, enable the exchange of experiences and best practices on policy development and implementation, and identify opportunities for cooperation.
The V Meeting of Ministers and High Authorities of Social Development was attended by the Assistant Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Néstor Méndez; the Vice Minister of Multilateral Foreign Policy, Rubén Silié; the General Coordinator of the Social Policy Cabinet, Francisco Antonio Peña Guaba and the President of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), Ambassador Yolande Smith.
Also present were the Minister of Labor, Luis Miguel de Camps; the directors of Supérate, Gloria Reyes; of the Social Plan of the Presidency, Yadira Henríquez; of Adess, Digna Reynoso; of Inaipi, Manola Santana; of the Economic Canteens, Edgar Féliz; of the Community Technology Centers, Isidro Torres; of the Presidential Commission for the Support of Neighborhood Development, Rolfi Rojas; of SeNsA, Santiago Hazim, among others.
