WASHINGTON – The international donors’ gathering for Haiti beginning today (April 13) will kick off a process to help the impoverished Caribbean nation consolidate stability, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said.
In a meeting earlier today with Haitian Prime Minister Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, the two men discussed the conference hosted this afternoon and tomorrow by the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington.
Prime Minister Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis of Haiti and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
During these talks, the Secretary-General emphasized the fundamental importance of the gathering in demonstrating the international community’s commitment to work with the Haitian Government to help the country rebuild, said UN spokesperson Farhan Haq.
Further, Mr. Ban, who is heading to Washington this afternoon to attend the conference, stressed that the reforms needed for the country to realize its economic potential must be implemented urgently.
The two leaders also discussed the upcoming senatorial elections in Haiti and how to strengthen its institutions.
During his visit to the country last month with former United States President Bill Clinton, the Secretary-General said that he saw reason for hope and optimism that the country will break out of its cycle of poverty, but that beyond international help, sustainable social and economic development is essential to Haiti’s success.
In an opinion piece published in The New York Times on-line edition late last month, Mr. Ban appealed for investment in Haiti to allow the country to seize a “break-out opportunity for one of the poorest nations to lift itself toward a future of real economic prospects and genuine hope.”
Haiti stands a better chance than almost any other emerging economy to not only weather the current economic storms but to prosper because of new US trade legislation, he wrote. HOPE II, as the act is known, offers Haiti duty-free, quota-free access to US markets for the next nine years. “No other nation enjoys a similar advantage,” Mr. Ban said. “This is a foundation to build on.”
He has cited five interlinked challenges the country faces in securing stability: political dialogue; extending State authority; bolstering security; the rule of law and human rights; and socio-economic development.
Last week, Hédi Annabi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Haiti, told the Security Council that security and development go hand in hand in the country and “if we are to succeed in our efforts, it is essential that there be an improvement in people’s daily lives, or at least a realistic hope of such an improvement.”
Devastating successive hurricanes last summer have left $1 billion – equivalent to 15 per cent of Haiti’s gross domestic product (GDP) – of damage in their wake. The global recession has further eroded the country’s socio-economic situation, with remittances, which bring three times the amount of funds to Haiti as international aid, plummeting 14 per cent.
To achieve growth and poverty reduction targets, partnership among the Government, international donors and the private sector is indispensable, Mr. Annabi told the Council in an open meeting.
