The Honourable Darren A. Henfield, Minister of Foreign Affairs, after being nominated by the representatives of Canada and Mexico, was unanimously elected as President of the 50 th Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States.

In accepting his role as President, Minister Henfield conveyed that for the Government of The Bahamas and for him, personally, it was a great honour to preside over the fiftieth regular session.

Further, Minister Henfield thanked Canada and Mexico, respectively, for their vote of confidence in nominating him, as well as the member states of the OAS for supporting his nomination and depositing their trust in him as the person selected to assume such a high honour.

Minister Henfield exhorted the members of the OAS to hold an open, frank and constructive dialogue; emphasizing that the Assembly was meeting at a time of great upheaval.

A time when every single country has had to urgently reset priorities to protect the health and survival of their citizens, to achieve food security, address social security needs, achieve diversification and technological modernization of their economies, while managing a complex pandemic together with resultant disruptions in the supply chain of basic medical and protective equipment.

The Minister stressed that it is incumbent upon members to work in strategic partnership at this critical time.

The Assembly is taking place virtually, 20-21 October, as a result of the social distancing measures adopted across the world to collectively address the COVID-19 pandemic,