Remarks by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Suriname,
Her Excellency Lygia Louise Irene Kraag-Keteldijk at the
36th Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States,
June 5, 2006,
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Thank you very much, for offering me the opportunity to speak on this important topic.

Let me first of all express my heartfelt thanks to the Government and People of this beautiful country for their warm hospitality and the superb preparations that have been made for this 36th session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States. I am certainly thankful for the immense efforts that you have made to make our stay here in Santo Domingo as pleasant as possible.

Allow me also to thank on behalf of President Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan and the People of Suriname, the Secretariat of the OAS and all the members states here present, for their genuine expressions of sympathy and solidarity as well as the substantial support received on the flooding in Suriname, exactly one month ago. I am pleased to report that the general situation in the Southern part of Suriname is stabilizing and provide that there will be no more heavy rainfall the situation will continue to stabilize.

Mr. Chairman,

The theme of this discussion entitled: “Good Governance and Development in the Knowledge Based Society”, could not have come at a more appropriate time. A time where democracy is broadly being celebrated in the American Hemisphere, but also a time where many of our Peoples are eagerly looking for the scores of benefits that comes with this type of governance.

It is widely accepted that the knowledge based economy is of great importance to create wealth and prosperity for peoples all over the world. This new epoch is transforming how organizations such as the OAS and states interact and communicate with each other, how our young people learn, how employers deal with employees, how workers perform their duties, and how information is being used and applied in these practices.

Advancements in this era are resulting in a global, networked economy, exemplified by the mobility of information. In fact this trend is redesigning and reorganizing the entire world and thus our hemisphere as well. There is no doubt that in order to succeed in this highly competitive world economy, all member states should work towards an advanced communication and technology infrastructure, as well as a highly educated workforce, accompanied by dynamic research and innovation programs.

All members states should achieve the know how to effectively generate, share and use knowledge. Members states should acquire the efficiency to provide goods as well as services that are not only needed locally or abroad, but can also raise the skills and level of their work force.

These new developments have serious implications for the developing member states in general and for the small and vulnerable economies of the Caribbean in particular. This means that those members that fail to speedily and efficiently transform in the current knowledge based global and hemispheric economy, will certainly fall further behind, widening the gap between the rich and the poor, and the poorest in this Hemisphere.

The ability of the small and vulnerable economies in the Americas to effectively capture, use, develop, and commercialize knowledge and technology, is essential for meeting the development challenges of many of the Caribbean nations. Again, the already existing gap between developed and developing member states highlights the urgency for the poor and weakest among us, to facilitate and upgrade our technology and science capacities.

Mr. Chairman,

The OAS is doing an excellent job in the promotion of democracy and democratic governance all over the Hemisphere. The recent smooth and peaceful transformation of political power in Haiti is testimony of how serious this Organization takes its duties and responsibilities regarding the perseverance of democracy all over the Americas.

On the other hand and in my view, the OAS also has an important role to play in assisting its developing member countries to prepare them for competing in this dramatically chancing and competitive environment, because it is also, and will always be one of the most important partners in the creation of development in the American Hemisphere. It is therefore vital that the development institutions of the OAS such as the Inter American Council for Integral Development and its organs, and the Inter American Development Bank join forces and act as a catalyst for sharing best practices and lessons learned. These institutions should also increase their investments in the building of local capacity to efficiently innovate and use the available information and communication technologies (ICT’s).

Looking to the future, the OAS should continue to assist member states by bringing together public and private partnerships in the area of science and technology, particularly since these partnerships offer strong potential for contributing to the relevance and sustainability of ICT solutions. The good work of CITEL and the educational portal of the America of the OAS are therefore being recognized and must be complimented; however more focused investments are necessary to help build local capabilities for innovative and efficient utilization of the available ICT’s.

We as member states have even a greater responsibility to effectively reduce the digital divide between our states. It is necessary to cooperate more closely to expand the available information and communication technology to a wider range of users, including the poor, those living in remote areas, the indigenous and tribal communities, girls and women and other disadvantaged groups.

Finally Mr. Chairman,

E-learning, e-health, e-commerce, and e-governance are concepts that are slowly but surely being introduced in societies such as mine. Access to e-learning and distance education is important in most sectors, particularly to improve the participation of women and consequently bridge the gender gap.

Thank you very much for your attention.