The Organization of American States (OAS) says the Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago, Neil Parsan, has assumed the chair of the Permanent Council of the hemispheric institution.
The OAS said on Thursday that Parsan will hold the position for the next three months, succeeding the Ambassador of Suriname Niermala Badrising.
On assuming office, Parsan expressed honor in leading the Council, reiterating the “commitment of Trinidad and Tobago to the values and principles of the OAS,” promising to defend them during his term.
The Trinidad and Tobago envoy noted that, with his new mandate, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries have now held “for the fifth consecutive time the Chair of the Permanent Council.”
In recent times, the chair has been held by St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname.
“CARICOM is very fortunate to have these challenges,” said Parsan, adding that Trinidad and Tobago will continue to collaborate with the OAS General Secretariat and member states to comply with the mandates of the hemispheric body during his term at the head of the Council.
Badrising said that, during her tenure, she presided over the latter part of the process of electing the new authorities of the OAS, which ended on March 18 with the election of the next OAS secretary general and the next assistant secretary general.
“I have to admit that the last three months were the most exciting of my stay at the OAS,” she said, expressing gratitude for the support received during her term “both from the General Secretariat and from member countries.
“I am proud to transfer the mandate to another Caribbean state,” she added, before symbolically delivering the gavel used to chair meetings of the Council to her successor.
The OAS said the vice chair of the Council over the next three months will be held by the Permanent Representative of St. Kitts and Nevis and Chief of Staff-designate of the OAS Secretary General-elect, Jacinth Lorna Henry-Martin.
