St. George’s, March 25, 2010 (GIS) – Foreign Minister Hon. Peter David is seeking development assistance for Grenada in a round of Washington meetings with representatives of the World Bank, the Organisation of American States (OAS) and various departments of the United States Government.
Mr. David arrived in Washington earlier this week for the 39th OAS Special General Assembly, but he is using the visit to conduct other government business.
He said that while Grenada is interested in developing closer hemispheric cooperation and trade ties with countries such as Brazil and Argentina, the United States still remains central in the development thrust of our nation.
“We’ll be meeting with the State Department, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Trade,’’ Mr. David said. “As we have indicated, while we seek non-traditional areas of support, the United States remains an important ally in our quest for development.’’
Talks will be held on commerce between the U.S. and Grenada, Foreign Minister David said, and “we’re going to be meeting with the Department of Trade to discuss not only trade with Grenada, but also trade with the region.’’
At the State Department, issues of security assistance will be discussed, Mr. David told a reporter.
With the World Bank, talks will focus on support in developing and enhancing the operations of Grenada’s Diaspora Affairs Office. It’s an area in which the Bank has helped other countries, such as India and Haiti.
“We are meeting with them to discuss the possibility of them giving us some kind of assistance to develop our own Diaspora Affairs Unit in Grenada,’’ the Foreign Minister said.
One of the main agenda items of 39th Special OAS General Assembly was voting for the positions of Secretary General (SG) and Assistant Secretary General (ASG) of the Organisation.
The two incumbents – Jose Miguel Insulza and Albert R. Ramdin – were re-elected to second 5-year terms. Mr. Insulza was returned by acclamation as the SG and Ambassador Ramdin as the ASG.
The Grenadian Foreign Minister David was chosen by his colleagues of the Caribbean Community to deliver CARICOM’s congratulatory messages to the Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General.
Minister David described it as a “distinct honour’’ to address the General Assembly on behalf of Grenada and all the “esteemed member-nations of the Caribbean Community.’’
CARICOM nations, he said, “concur in our solidarity and support for the Organisation of American States.’’
Hon. David said the re-election of Secretary General Insulza and Ambassador Ramdin “indicates the desire on the part of member-states for continuity and an endorsement of what has been done over the years.’’
ASG Ramdin has visited Grenada before and Foreign Minister David said our Tri-island State looks forward to the Secretary General coming shortly.
“That has been on the cards for a while,’’ he said. “It was supposed to be last month but it was put off because of the earthquake in Haiti. But now with the OAS elections behind us, we hope that SG Insulza will make a visit to Grenada, where we can discuss areas of cooperation.’’