OEA - Informe CIDI INF. 653 25 de 2025

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ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES

Inter-American Council for Integral Development

(CIDI)

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OEA/Ser.W

CIDI/INF.653/25

16 April 2025

TEXTUAL

MEETING OF THE

INTER-AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR INTEGRAL DEVELOPMENT (CIDI)

APRIL 22, 2025

IN RECOGNITION OF EARTH DAY APRIL 22, 2025

“RESPONDING TO THE CRITICAL ENERGY TRANSITION PRIORITIES IN THE AMERICAS – ENERGY SECURITY, RESILIENCE, AND SUSTAINABILITY”

BIOGRAPHIES OF GUESTS SPEAKERS

[image: Luis Almagro Lemes]Luis Almagro, Secretary General, Organization of American States (OAS)

Luis Almagro was re-elected for a second term as Secretary General of the OAS on March 20, 2020. He was first elected as Secretary General of the OAS on March 18, 2015, with the support of 33 of the 34 member states and one abstention. Upon taking up the leadership of the OAS, he announced that the central theme of his administration would be “more rights for more people” and that he would work “to be the voice of the voiceless.” His priority at the helm of the General Secretariat is to put the Organization in touch with people’s needs and the new realities in the Hemisphere, as well as helping to ensure greater democracy, more rights, more security, and more development and prosperity for all.

As Secretary General, Almagro has prioritized defense of democracy and human rights in his daily work and has not hesitated to speak out when democracy and human rights are being trampled, as in the case of Venezuela, where he pressed for the enforcement of the Inter-American Democratic Charter (IADC), the “Constitution of the Americas,” as he calls it. He is the first OAS Secretary General to have invoked Article 20 of the IADC.

Pursuing a type of multilateral diplomacy predicated on principles, Almagro has also played an instrumental role in the search for solutions to the crisis in Nicaragua; he has put the struggle to restore democracy in Cuba at the very top of the regional agenda; he has increased OAS support for the Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP) in Colombia; he drove the creation of the Mission to Support the Fight Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH), the first OAS mission of its kind; and he reinvigorated and expanded the OAS electoral observation missions, with the first-time deployment of missions in such countries as the USA and Brazil. Almagro also played a key role in ensuring elections in Haiti, mediated in the migrant crisis between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and deepened diplomatic efforts in the territorial differendum between Belize and Guatemala in relation to the Adjacency Zone, among other initiatives.

After announcing his intention of hauling the OAS into the 21st century, he transformed and modernized the Organization’s communications policy, bringing it closer to the citizens of the Hemisphere by giving it a more proactive presence on social media platforms. By mid-2017 the official OAS accounts had over 1 million followers. According to Twiplomacy, the Secretary General is the most followed leader of an international organization.

A career diplomat, he has extensive regional and international experience. Almagro was his country’s foreign minister from March 1, 2010 to March 1, 2015. Under his tenure, Uruguay set new records for exports year after year. He also defined several landmark initiatives of President José Mujíca’s government that put the country on the global map. Uruguay decided to take in former prisoners from Guantanamo, granted asylum to dozens of Syrian families who were victims of their country’s civil war, and secured the endorsement of GRULAC for its election to a seat on the United Nations Security Council in January 2016.

Almagro was also ambassador to China for three years, after occupying senior diplomatic posts in his country’s foreign ministry and at its embassies in Germany and Iran.

In addition, he was elected as a senator in Uruguay’s national elections in October 2014.

Almagro is a lawyer by profession, is married to Luisa Fernanda Marín and has seven children. Apart from Spanish, he speaks English and French.

In addition, he was elected as a senator in Uruguay’s national elections in October 2014.

Almagro is a lawyer by profession, is married to Luisa Fernanda Marín and has seven children. Apart from Spanish, he speaks English and French.

Hon. Michael Halkitis, Minister of Economic Affairs of The Bahamas and Chair of the Inter-American Committee for Sustainable Development (CIDS)

[image] Senator, The Hon. Michael B. Halkitis was born on February 1st, 1969, in Nassau, Bahamas to Inez Brown. He attended Old Bight All Age School in Cat Island, Yellow Elder School in Nassau and graduated from St Augustine’s College. Mr. Halkitis began his higher education at the College of the Bahamas and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario in 1991.

A Chief Financial Officer by profession, Mr. Halkitis started his political journey in 2007 when he was elected to Parliament for the first time as Member of Parliament for the Adelaide Constituency and served as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. He is credited for digitizing the Ministry of Finance and introducing major taxation reforms which have been applauded for their seamless integration and functional operability.

He was thereafter appointed to the Senate in 2007. Following his successful campaign in the 2012 elections, he became the Member of Parliament for the Golden Isles Constituency and was appointed Minister of State for Finance by Prime Minister the Rt. Hon Perry G. Christie.

His political journey continued as he received his most recent appointment as Minister of Economic Affairs and Leader of Government Business in the Senate by Prime Minister, the Rt. Honorable Philip Davis during the recent 2021 appointment of Cabinet Ministers.

He oversees the financial services industry and trade, takes on the crucial task of improving our country’s ease of doing business, and directs our country’s digitalization efforts. He will plays a critical role in helping to stabilize the country’s finances.

Noemi Hernandez Rodriguez, Senior Country Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, and Secretary to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council

[image]Prior to her current position, she served as coordinator for Financial Mechanisms and Markets at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Previously, she dedicated nearly six years as Director for Multilateral Organizations and Bilateral Cooperation in the Mexican Ministry of Finance, where she managed the Ministry’s diplomatic relations. Within this tenure, she also acted as Council Member to the Global Environment Facility, and National Designated Authority (NDA) to the Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund. At the same time, she represented Mexico on the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group and served as Deputy-Sherpa in the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action.

Her career journey also includes a two-year stint in the Mexican Ministry of Social Development, where she contributed to international initiatives to reduce poverty. Her international experience extends to working at the Mexican Embassy in Morocco.

Her academic qualifications include a master’s degree in political economy from the University of Essex, and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM).

Ignacio Lorenzo, Director of Technical Advisory on Biodiversity and Climate, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF)

Mr. Lorenzo led the mainstreaming of climate and biodiversity in all of CAFs financial operations, including Energy, Infrastructure, Water and Cities, and led CAF’s work with the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund and the Global Environment Facility. His Division also supports the origination of financial operations in Ecosystems, Blue Economy, Agriculture, Forestry and Disaster Risk Management.

Previous to his appointment in CAF, Mr. Lorenzo served as Director in the city government of Montevideo. Previously he served in the Ministry of Environment in Uruguay in several positions, including as Director for Climate Change, where he led the preparation of the National Climate Change Policy and Uruguays first NDC to the Paris Agreement. In his work at the Ministry, he actively worked on climate negotiations between 2011 and 2020, including as Coordinator of G77 and China for Adaptation and Loss & Damage in COP 21 Paris, A-B-U negotiation group Chair, and A-B-U negotiation group Adaptation coordinator. From 2016 to 2020 he served at the Board of the Green Climate Fund representing the Latin America and Caribbean region.

He has been an expert consultant on climate and sustainability for CAF, IDB, AECID, Fundación AVINA, UNDP, GIZ, IICA, among others.

Mr. Lorenzo is a PhD. candidate in Universidad de la República, where he teaches Urban Economics and Urban Sustainability, he holds a B.A. in Architecture in Universidad de la República, and Master in Public Policy and Master in Public Administration in Universidad Católica del Uruguay. He is of Uruguayan and Spanish nationalities, he lives in Montevideo and is married with two children.

Wazim Mowla, Fellow & Lead of the Caribbean Initiative Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, Atlantic Council

[image]Wazim Mowla is a fellow and lead of the Caribbean Initiative at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. He leads the development and execution of the initiative’s programming, including the Financial Inclusion Task Force, the US-Caribbean Consultative Group, the PACC 2030 Working Group, and the Caribbean Energy Working Group. Since joining the Council, Mowla has co-authored major publications on the strategic importance of sending US COVID-19 vaccines to the Caribbean, strategies to address financial de-risking, and how the United States can advance new policies to support climate and energy resilience. As part of his work on the Caribbean, Mowla was called to provide Congressional testimony to the US House Financial Services Committee on financial de-risking.

Mowla is also a nonresident scholar at Florida International University’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy in Miami, Florida, and is an affiliate of the Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative at the Overseas Development Institute in the United Kingdom. He is frequently called on to brief US and Caribbean government officials on the direction of US-Caribbean relations and Caribbean politics, economic development, financial inclusion, security cooperation, and energy security. Mowla’s writings are frequently featured in US and Caribbean media including the Miami Herald, Foreign Policy, theNational Interest, and Caribbean News Global, among others. He also writes a monthly column for the Guyanese newspaper Stabroek News on Guyana’s foreign policy and its role in world affairs. Mowla holds bachelor’s degrees in international relations and history and a master’s degree in public history from Florida International University, as well as a master’s degree in comparative regional studies from American University.

Mark Lambrides, Director of the Department for Sustainable Development, Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI), Organization of American States (OAS)

[image]Mr. Lamdrides provides leadership and direction for OAS-led initiatives that contribute to improved environmental management and practices, including in the sectors of water, biodiversity, climate change, natural hazards and sustainable energy throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Prior to returning to the OAS, Mr. Lambrides worked at The Nature Conservancy, where he served as Director, Low Carbon Future, and before that he was a Senior Energy Specialist at The World Bank. Previously, Mr. Lambrides worked for fifteen years at the OAS as the Energy Section Chief.

Mr. Lambrides received his M.A. in International Relations, with concentrations in International Economics and Latin American Studies from The Johns Hopkins University - The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and he received his B.A. in Political Science and Spanish, with concentration in International Business from Kalamazoo College.

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