PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Chairman of the Organization of American States (OAS) Permanent Council, Ambassador Cornelius A. Smith of the Bahamas, and OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin will arrive in Port-au-Prince Thursday (Feb. 14) leading a delegation on an official four-day visit to meet with Haitian government officials and a range of political and other interests in Haiti.
The hemispheric delegation will discuss with the Haitian authorities a range of priority issues including a program of support for democratic institutions, as that nation prepares for partial elections to fill a number of vacancies in the Senate.
While in Haiti, the OAS delegation—which includes the OAS ambassadors from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru, United States and Uruguay—will also do onsite visits to projects for first-hand assessment of the current situation, progress being made, and areas in which additional support might be needed. Countries represented on the delegation are among those in the OAS Group of Friends of Haiti, have peace-keeping troops in Haiti and, through the OAS, also provide support for many institutional strengthening and capacity-building activities in that country.
The Permanent Council Chairman described the mission as further indication of the commitment of the Permanent Council of the OAS to accompany the government and people of Haiti as they move forward to further strengthen the political and democratic processes. Ambassador Smith, who is also representing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegations, further expressed the hope that as a result of this visit “we might be better able to assist Haiti in strengthening their institutional capacity and encourage the donor countries to make available funding for the economic development of Haiti.”
Assistant Secretary General Ramdin, who is Chairman of the hemispheric organization’s Haiti Task Force, explained that the February 14-17 visit is part of ongoing efforts to engage with that country. “The visit is to observe developments in Haiti, so that the friends of Haiti can get a better sense of what has been done and what remains to be done,” added Ramdin.
