The Secretary General of Organization of American States (OAS), the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), the Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) met on June 11, 2025 at OAS headquarters in Washington, D.C. to discuss the current developments, challenges and opportunities facing countries in the Western Hemisphere, and how they can work together to address these in a coordinated and collective manner.
OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin, IADB President Ilan Goldfajn, PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa and IICA Director General Manuel Otero, who joined virtually, discussed how, based on the priorities of each organization, they can advance a common and aligned agenda to build a prosperous future for the Americas.
The leaders highlighted that the 10th Summit of the Americas-set for December 2025 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic-, is an opportunity to drive the collective agenda for a more united and prosperous Americas under the theme "Building a Secure and Sustainable Hemisphere with Shared Prosperity." Among the topics identified for such a common agenda were the situation in Haiti and the multiple dimensions of security: public, health, energy, food, and economic security. The group also underscored the importance of youth as a cross-cutting priority, as well as connectivity migration.
Secretary General Ramdin advocated a holistic approach to Haiti that includes addressing security, humanitarian assistance, building political consensus, constitutional reform, a referendum and national elections. President Goldfajn's suggestion to include economic resilience as part of this integral agenda was adopted by all.
PAHO Director Barbosa pointed out the institution's role in keeping the only hospital in Port-au-Prince open, though greater support is still urgently needed to increase assistance to provide access to health services for the Haitian population and respond to outbreaks such as cholera. IICA Director General Otero highlighted the need to pay attention to rural zones of Haiti that need to recover their agricultural production capacity.
Cooperation with the United Nations was mentioned as central to tackle the current security and humanitarian crisis as well as the need to partner with development banks, the private sector and members of the Haitian diaspora. In parallel with efforts to tackle the security challenges in Haiti, the leaders agreed that there is need for more coordination, sharing of information and working together on joint responses, building synergies on the ground based on each institution's priorities, capacities, expertise, and resources.
The meeting also addressed the regional implications of migration, and the leaders discussed addressing root causes such as lack of economic opportunity and environmental degradation, as well as the need to support reintegration pathways for returning migrants.
"By having our institutions work together and inviting others to join us, such as the private sector, we can pool our technical expertise, funding and political support to provide more holistic and integral solutions to address the pressing challenges facing countries in the Western Hemisphere," said Secretary General Ramdin. "Now is the time to develop a common future agenda for the peace and prosperity of our hemisphere."
The leaders of the Inter-American institutions parted with the intent to formalize a guideline document for future collaboration.
Reference: E-033/25
