The signing took place in a virtual ceremony from OAS headquarters in Washington, DC.

Panama's minister of foreign affairs, Erika Mouynes, explained that“the humanitarian hub is a platform whose purpose is to facilitate the reception, handling, storage and distribution of supplies and equipment, as well as the mobilization of human resources, for the efficient management of humanitarian assistance in emergencies”.

“By signing this memorandum of understanding, we hope to facilitate cooperation between the Regional Logistics Center for Humanitarian Assistance and the OAS General Secretariat,” added the foreign minister.

For his part, OAS secretary-general Luis Almagro said that“as part of our response to natural disasters and humanitarian crises in the region, we at the General Secretariat are committed to using our technical and convening capacity to strengthen the efforts of the Logistics Center for Humanitarian Assistance.”

The secretary-general congratulated Panama“for honoring its historic vocation of service to the world” and described the Regional Logistics Center for Humanitarian Assistance as a“very powerful infrastructure for coordinating joint response actions and addressing regional vulnerability to natural phenomena.”