Santo Domingo– The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, and the Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the OAS, Virgilio Alcántara, signed a letter of understanding regarding the preparation of the Second Meeting of Ministers and High-Level Authorities on Sustainable Development.

The meeting, to be held in the framework of the Inter-American Council for Integral Development (CIDI), will bring together the highest authorities in the hemisphere on sustainable development from November 3 to 5 in Santo Domingo, to discuss subjects such as vulnerability, risk management in planning as well as institutional and managerial aspects in adapting to climate change.

The Ministers will follow up on the commitments undertaken during the first meeting, held in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in 2006. Insulza said he was very pleased by the Dominican Republic’s proposal to host this important meeting, since “we know well the enormous efforts the Dominican Republic has made this year in many respects and the particularly daring way in which it has assumed the task of supporting its neighbor Haiti in the earthquake that struck this year.”