Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heraldo Muñoz, announced a 250 thousand dollar contribution to the OAS Special Caribbean Scholarships in the framework of the First Plenary Session of the 47 Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, held in Cancun, Mexico.

"Although we know our resources are always scarce and insufficient to respond to all the challenges presented to us, Chile today wants to give the OAS a contribution of US$250,000 directly for the Special Caribbean Scholarships", stated Minister Muñoz.

Secretary of State also indicated Chile "offers its experience and lessons learnt in issues such as risk prevention and mitigation of natural disasters, institutional strengthening, and other contributions that can transform our discourse and willingness in concrete integration initiatives".

Following the round of applause after the announcement, Minister Muñoz declared "Chile has been persistent in playing an active role in this area and its diverse instances. We have been part of many cooperation projects in the region mainly through our Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AGCID)".

During the intervention, Foreign Minister Muñoz recalled his participation in the Conference on Prosperity and Security in Central America last week in Miami. Presidents of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador were also present in the meeting. The conference addressed many issues concerning the challenges and opportunities of the region in cooperation between the nations and their people.

He added that in this encounter "we demonstrated the interest of Chile in collaborating in the prosperity of the zone. We believe that in this area, as in many others, the OAS must be present. And should contribute with knowledge and experience to rebuild trust, promote governance and rule of law, and support institutions".

Minister Muñoz appreciated the central theme of the OAS Assembly: "Strengthening Dialogue and Concerted Action for Prosperity". "We cheer the relevance of the theme, given the increasing challenges, the lack of answers, and the multilateral questioning nowadays" he stated.

According to Minister Muñoz "fragmentation is a threat to collective action. We must attend the political and social requirements of the democratic societies we represent. The risk of disaffection before institutions and democracy is also real. In this organization, as in many others, it is urgent to assume challenges on convergence, cooperation, and integrity".

Due to this, the Minister highlighted that "we are interested in the political trust within the OAS. In a region with diverse references interacting, Chile has insisted in reaching consensus and not diverging and weakening the region in front of global challenges". He added "we must deepen the call to convergence in diversity to affront the difficulties and opportunities coming. It is a necessary task that involves all of us".

To conclude his intervention, Minister Muñoz assured "the OAS is the main hemispheric organism, base instrument for political dialogue, development of law and institutionality in the Americas. We must boost and privilege the four basic pillars: Democracy, Human Rights, Security, and Development".