The Organization of American States (OAS), in its capacity as Technical Secretariat of the Inter-American Network on Government Procurement (INGP), and Paraguay’s National Public Procurement Directorate (DNCP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening professionalization and capacity-building in public procurement across the region.

The agreement was signed at OAS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. by the current Chair of the INGP and Director of Paraguay’s National Public Procurement Directorate, Dr. Agustín Encina Pérez, and the Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin.

The signing formalizes cooperation between both institutions for the development of the “Advanced Professionalization Program in Strategic Public Procurement Management,” an academic initiative to be jointly promoted by Paraguay’s Higher Technical Institute for Public Procurement (ITSCP) and the OAS School of Government.

The program seeks to expand training opportunities for INGP member countries through an academic offering targeted at public officials and civil society stakeholders linked to the region’s public procurement ecosystem. It will also promote spaces for training, knowledge exchange, and technical cooperation at the hemispheric level.

The initiative aims to contribute to strengthening institutional capacities and advancing the professionalization of public procurement systems by fostering more efficient, ethical, innovative, and forward-looking management aligned with the current challenges of public procurement in the Americas.

The Advanced Program includes several strategic thematic areas, including public contract management, sustainable public procurement, value for money, artificial intelligence applied to public procurement, and public procurement for innovation. Courses will be delivered virtually in both Spanish and English through the digital platforms of the ITSCP and the OAS School of Government.

With this agreement, the INGP Presidency advances one of the key priorities established for the current term: strengthening the capacities of stakeholders involved in public procurement processes through specialized training, knowledge exchange, and regional cooperation.

This partnership also reaffirms the commitment of the INGP and its member and observer countries to continue promoting initiatives that strengthen regional cooperation and contribute to the development of more efficient, transparent, and results-oriented public procurement systems for the benefit of citizens.

Informational Notes:

• https://www.contrataciones.gov.py/noticias/576.html
• https://www.contrataciones.gov.py/noticias/574.html
• https://x.com/red_ricg/status/2059403276974543186?s=46&t=wptyPlsH3FgcFFG5-bHZng
• https://x.com/red_ricg/status/2059752513855795612?s=46&t=wptyPlsH3FgcFFG5-bHZng