NQ DATE
M/ 66 3 April 1973
AUSTRALIA TO ATTEND~ O. A. S. GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The Special Minister of State and Minister Assisting
the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Willesee, announced
today that Australia had accepted an invitation to attend the
third regular session of the General Assembly of the Organisation
of American States ( OAS) to be held in Washington between 4 and
14 April. Senator Willesee said that Australia would attend in
an observer capacity and would be represented by Mr M. G. Williams,
the Counsellor at the Australian Embassy in Washington responsible
for Latin American affairs.
The OAS, a regional agency within the United Nations,
is an international organisation founded in 1948 to foster mutual
understanding and co-operation among the nations of the Western
Hemisphere. The OrganizationL, whose 23 members are all, apart
fromn the United States of America, countries from the Latin
American and Caribbean areas, operates through a variety of
councils and specialized bodies in the economic, social,
cultural and juridical fields. The General Assembly provides
a forum for an annual review of the whole range of OAS activities. ./ 2
-2-
Senator Willesee said that Australia's decision to
attend the GAS General Assembly reflected the Government's
interest in Latin America and was a recognition of the
important role played by countries of that region in various
aspects of international affairs.
The Government, he said, intended to send official
Australian observers to other important meetings of Latin
American countries as these occurred.
Senator Willesee added that the Department of Foreign
Affairs was already holding informal consultations on a regular
basis with the diplomatic representatives of Latin American
countries in Canberra.
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