Within the framework of the 80th Anniversary of the Inter-American Defense Board, On March 30, the Regular Meeting of the Council of Delegates was held in the Hall of the Americas of the Organization of American States.
In attendance were OAS authorities (Permanent Council, General Secretariat and Hemispheric Security Commission), Ambassadors of the member states, Permanent Representatives, Secretaries of Defense and Commanders of the armed forces of the hemisphere, Delegates to the IADB and the Observer Countries and the College Inter-American Defense Department, in person and remotely.
During the event, Brigadier General Frank Bradfield, Delegate of the United States of America, read the letter from General Mark Milley, Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the same country, in which he congratulated the IADB for providing the OAS valuable advice on matters related to military and defense issues in the Western Hemisphere and thanks each of the delegations for their contributions to regional security over the last 80 years, indicating that only by defending common values can regional peace be maintained.
The event was highlighted with commemorative speeches, virtually, from the following authorities:
1. The Minister of State for Mines and Energy of Brazil, Admiral Bento Alburqueque, highlighted the history and contributions of the IADB in the prevention of divergences in the hemisphere through the strengthening of multilateral organizations, exemplifying the OAS, as the governing body of the Board, highlighting the tasks, the expertise, the transfer of knowledge that this organization does on security and defense issues for the benefit of the Hemisphere. Likewise, it exalts the legacy of the members of the past and present, for their contributions to continue advancing in its construction.
2. The Minister of Defense of Brazil and current President of the Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, Mr. Walter Souza Braga Netto, celebrates the anniversary of the IADB with the certainty that peace and stability in the Americas promote an environment of prosperity and security that leads to fraternal coexistence and mutual trust in all the countries that are part of that success story.
3. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, mentioned that current geopolitical events have shown us that relegating the issue of defense to the background is unnecessarily allowing the democratic institutions and values of the country to be threatened. our societies, which is why the IADB should be saluted for its undeniable resistance and recognize its importance in the inter-American system.
4. The President of Colombia, Mr. Iván Duque Márquez mentioned that thanks to the IADB today we have a safer continent, the result of cooperation and multilateralism, so it is undoubtedly the route that we must follow and deepen in the coming years; a route that has security as a democratic value: hemispheric security as a priority.
In person, the following personalities gave their speeches:
1. The Secretary General of the OAS, Mr. Luis Almagro.
2. The President of the Hemispheric Security Commission, Mr. Anthony Phillips Spencer.
3. The President of the Board of the Council of Delegates of the IADB, Vice-Admiral Alexander Rabello de Faria.
Finally, Captain Alexa Pereyra, member of the IADB Secretariat, praised the role of women in this institution.
This ceremony constitutes the main activity that the IADB carries out to commemorate "80 years of the Spirit of Hemispheric Cooperation and Solidarity."
