Dr. Patricia Rodgers, Permanent Secretary,

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Mrs. Melissa Miller-Deveaux, Acting Officer In Charge

OAS National Office in The Bahamas

Senior Officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their staff

Our six OAS Scholarship recipients

Ladies and Gentleman

Good morning

I AM PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO JOIN YOU THIS MORNING AS WE RECOGNIZE SIX BAHAMIANS WHO HAVE BEEN AWARDED FULL OAS SCHOLARSHIPS TO PURSUE FURTHER EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE CARIBBEAN.

SINCE THE BAHAMAS BECAME A MEMBER OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE AMERICAN STATES IN 1982, THE OAS HAS GRANTED FULL SCHOLARSHIPS EVERY YEAR TO BAHAMIAN CITIZENS TO PURSUE HIGHER EDUCATION AT THE BACHELOR, MASTER AND DOCTORAL LEVELS.

THE OAS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HUMAN RESOURCES OF THE BAHAMAS, AS WELL AS THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL WELLBEING OF THIS DEVELOPING COUNTRY.

THIS MORNING WE ARE RECOGNIZING THE AWARD OF SCHOLARSHIPS IN THE AREA OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; HISTORY; SOCIAL WORK; EDUCATIONAL MEDIA DESIGN; AND CIVIL ENGINEERING. I ENCOURAGE YOU, SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS, TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ALL THAT YOU CAN; TO STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE; AND, UPON YOUR RETURN, TO PLAY A ROLE IN THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE BAHAMAS.

I WANT TO EXPRESS, ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE AND GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS, MY SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE THAT THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES HAS GIVEN OVER THE PAST TWENTY-ONE YEARS, SO THAT BAHAMIANS COULD REALIZE THEIR DREAMS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, AND THEREBY, CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BAHAMAS FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.

I CONGRATULATE YOU, SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS, AND WISH YOU THE VERY BEST IN YOUR STUDIES.

THANK YOU.

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