Distinguished Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina, Ambassador Jorge Taiana,
Distinguished National Coordinators and representatives from Member States,
Distinguished Representatives from the Organizations of the Joint Summit Working Group,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This seminar as part of the 40th SIRG meeting and as part of the preparations for the 4th Summit of the Americas signifies an important moment in the debate on how to strengthen the delivery capacity on Summit mandates.

As you are aware, the Third Summit of the Americas, strengthened the role of the institutions significantly within the Summit Process.

As a consequence in July 2001, the Joint Summit Working Group (JSWG) was created with the objective to enhance coordination between partner institutions in support to the countries for the implementation of the Summits of the Americas mandates. We now have twelve members in the Joint Summit Working Group, including multilateral development banks at the sub-regional level, which can play an important role in the implementation of mandates in their respective regions.

Since then, this group of institutions has offered continuous technical support to countries in defining and implementing the inter-American and multilateral agendas for the region. Let me use this opportunity to thank all these institutions for their support and initiatives.

And, at the same time, let me reiterate that there is still a lot of work to be done.

We have to find creative ways to strengthen the delivery capacity, find workable mechanisms for funding and implementation to the membership of this Summit process, so that this process remains a credible one, one that has the trust and confidence of the Peoples of the Americas that they and their communities can truly benefit from all the initiatives and mandates agreed upon by their political leaders.

No doubt, this will be one of the major challenges in the Summit process and I believe that the partner institutions have to play a critical role in this regard, in close collaboration with the member states.

This year the Joint Summit Working Group is preparing a joint report related to the implementation of the Quebec and Nuevo Leon Declarations and Plans of Action. This report will inform member states and the public in general about progress on the implementation of the commitments taken by our Heads of State and Government.

I urge the presenters today to focus on the concrete activities of their efforts and to discuss the problems they experience in carrying out mandates. We urge member states representatives to take the opportunity provided to discuss the challenges encountered by Governments in the process of implementation and to suggest possible ways of resolving these.

No doubt, the coordinated engagement of the multilateral institutions that are part of the Joint Summit Working Group with the respective Governments in all stages of the Summit Process is essential in order to ensure effective implementation of Summit mandates. The OAS remains committed to this process and will continue to provide leadership in the Joint Summit Working Group.

As members of the Joint Summit Working Group we have committed ourselves to incorporate Summit mandates in our work plans and we are determined to continue our cooperation in providing support to the governments in the implementation and follow-up of Summit mandates by developing evaluation mechanisms, providing indicators, financing programs and projects and identifying gaps that limit the social and economic development of the Americas.

The OAS, as the coordinating institution of the Joint Summit Working Group, presented to the Government of Argentina the proposal to hold this seminar with the objective to facilitate a dialogue between the multilateral institutions and the Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) to support the countries to identify concrete and measurable initiatives to be considered at the discussions for the Plan of Action of Mar del Plata. This is a very important exercise as it goes to the heart of the spirit and purpose of the Summit process. I want to publicly express our appreciation to the Government of Argentina for making this encounter possible.

We hope that this exercise will contribute in a meaningful way to the negotiations that will continue tomorrow at the SIRG meeting and that the results of this seminar can be included in the discussions on the Declaration of Mar de Plata and Plan of Action.

I wish you much success in the deliberations and look forward to the results of your debate.

Thank you.