OAS signs agreement with Caribbean Tourism Organization

Tuesday, January 19, 2009 – The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, the Permanent Representative of Barbados to the OAS, Ambassador John Beale, and the Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Hugh Riley, today signed an agreement on tourism for the Caribbean region. The ceremony was held in the office of the Secretary General at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Memorandum of Understanding seeks to continue the working relationship between the General Secretariat and the CTO under the auspices of the Government of Barbados. During the event, the Secretary General asserted that this agreement “gives us the opportunity of raising and strengthening collaboration with the CTO, supporting Caribbean efforts on diversity, innovation and updating of the tourism product in the region to make it even more competitive.”

“The OAS, through its tourism office, continues its commitment to the promotion of regional cooperation, in sharing the best practices in the industry of tourism, and the opening of opportunities for collaboration between the private and public sectors,” Insulza said.

For his part, the Secretary General of the CTO, Hugh Riley, highlighted the importance of the agreement for the CTO. “It is an honor and a privilege for us today to be a part of this historic agreement,” he said. “We believe it signals the continuation, the strengthening, the broadening of collaboration between the CTO and the Organization of American States.”

The OAS and the CTO have been working together since 1976. With the signing of this agreement the contribution made by the OAS to the CTO was raised from 50,000 to 100,000 US dollars, which “underlines the importance that the OAS attributes to the development of tourism in the Caribbean,” the Secretary General said.

Present at the ceremony were the President of the Permanent Council and Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the OAS, José Enrique Castillo, and the ambassadors of Jamaica and Grenada.

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