Mrs. Valerie Amos, United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, arrived in the island today, Thursday, October 17, 2013 to attend the Sixth Regional Meeting on International Mechanisms for Humanitarian Assistance (MIAH) for Latin American and Caribbean States. The Sixth MIAH Meeting is being held at the Jamaica Conference Centre, from October 16 to 18, 2013 under the theme “Strengthening Public and Private Partnerships, towards a common Regional Platform for Humanitarian Action”.

The Under Secretary General (USG) is here mainly to co-chair, alongside Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade the Honourable A. J. Nicholson, a high level segment of the MIAH Meeting on day three of the conference. This segment will be limited to Ministers of Foreign Affairs from participating countries. Prior to attending the meeting the Under Secretary General (USG) will pay a courtesy call on the Minister of Local Government & Community Development and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade

The Sixth MIAH is being hosted by Government of Jamaica, through the Ministry of Local Government / Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Minister Noel Arscott delivered the keynote address during the opening ceremony yesterday, Wednesday, October 16, 2013 to one hundred and twenty (120) participants from over twenty five (25) countries.

This is the first time that the MIAH meeting is being held in the Caribbean. Meetings were previously held in Mexico (2008), Brazil (2009), Argentina (2010), Ecuador (2011) and Panama (2012).

MIAH is the acronym for the Spanish, Mecanismos Internacionales de Assistencia Humanitaria .