The 47th Organization of American States General Assembly will be inaugurated tomorrow in Cancun and run through June 21.

This year's theme is "Strengthening Dialogue and Concertation for Prosperity." Foreign Ministers and high-level representatives from the 34 OAS member States will meet to discuss inter-American priority issues, exchange views on the regional situation and agree on a 2017-2018 roadmap.

This is the first time in the history of the OAS that Mexico is hosting a General Assembly, a reaffirmation of the country's confidence in and commitment to multilateralism and the OAS as essential for facing the major global and regional challenges.

Four interactive panels will address the main hemispheric challenges: comprehensive development and prosperity; the rule of law, democracy and human rights; multidimensional security; and women's empowerment and leadership.

There will also be a dialogue between representatives of more than 300 civil society organizations and representatives of the OAS member States.

In addition, representatives of the 72 OAS observer States will exchange views on the General Assembly's theme this year and on the organization's four pillars: democracy, human rights, development and security, and there will be a private sector forum for business leaders to make recommendations related to inter-American issues and on public-private partnerships. 

Side events will include meetings on innovation, entrepreneurship, development, measuring poverty, cybersecurity, disaster risk reduction and correspondent banking. 

The OAS is the premier regional forum for political discussion and cooperation in the Americas. It came into being in 1948 with the signing of the Pact of Bogota. The General Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the OAS. It meets annually in regular sessions.