Stephen Vasciannie on July 18th presented his credentials to OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza. During the ceremony, Ambassador Vasciannie presented greetings from Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, as well as the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, A.J. Nicholson.
Present at the ceremony, held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, were the OAS Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Albert Ramdin; the OAS Secretary for Integral Development, Jorge Saggiante; representatives from Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Venezuela, and the Permanent Observer to the OAS from Spain.
“We have been very much appreciative of the leadership and guidance you have given to the Organization of American States over the years,” said the Jamaican diplomat. “And I look forward to working with you and the members of your Secretariat.”
Secretary General Insulza welcomed Ambassador Vasciannie and noted that Jamaica will soon celebrate 50 years of independence. “It was the first nation of the English speaking Caribbean to join the OAS,” said the Secretary. “And we see our relations with your country as very important to the work of the organization.”
Insulza referred to the legal background of the Jamaican diplomat, who until recently served as Principal at the Norman Manley Law School (University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica), noting: “We are faced today with some very interesting legal problems, we have been talking about them with the ambassador. Some of the political situations that are happening in our region have a very strong legal content, and certainly your experience in that area will be very important.”
