Venezuela participates in handover ceremony to 7th ACS Secretary General - MPPRE

Venezuela participates in handover ceremony to 7th ACS Secretary General

On October 29, the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) held the handover ceremony to the 7th Secretary General’s Office, Panamian Rodolfo Sabonge,  who will chair the Association for the next four years.

The virtual meeting was attended by the ACS member states, associate members, observer and founding organizations, and Vice-minister Raúl Li Causi, ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the ACS, Caricom and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

The member states, associate members and observers extended a warm welcome to new Secretary General and wished him success in this new period marked by the economic, social COVID-19 situation.

ACS Secretary General Sabonge thanked for the support of the member states when he ran for the post, and said he was excited about the challenges posed by his new role as chair of the ACS. Sabonge trusts his knowledge and experience will help him undertake the ACS technical work: trade, transport, tourism and disaster management, among others.

In this regard, he proposed a working plan to strengthen the institutionality of the organization according to the Constitutive Agreement to continue the work done by former Secretary General June Sommer, and promote and carry out projects allowing for adapting the region to competitiveness in global trade, sustainable tourism and climate change management to prevent eventual natural disasters.

Noteworthily, the new Secretary General has gained experience over 45 years in international trade, transport, maritime and logistic development, both in the public and private sector, standing out for his role as Executive Vice-president of Planning and Trade Development at the Panama Canal Authority. He is a specialist in planning, prospective and competitive intelligence. He has also contributed to multilateral agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank.

Likewise, at the ceremony, the ACS member states thanked outgoing Secretary General, Dr. June Soomer for her work done in the last four years, including her support for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela during the 2017-2018 ACS Pro Tempore Presidency.

In addition, Venezuela seized the opportunity to express its commitment to the new ACS Secretary General to continue working with the Association on cooperation, and offered the synergic work developed by ALBA and Petrocaribe on assisting the region with response mechanisms and humanitarian aid in the face of the difficult situation imposed by COVID-19 and eventual natural disasters.