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Inter-American Institutions Undertake Joint Mission to Haiti

  January 28, 2010

OAS Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Albert Ramdin arrives in Port au Prince, Haiti, today, January 28th, accompanied by a delegation of representatives from four other inter-American institutions, the Pan-American Development Foundation (PADF), Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), Inter-American Institute for Agriculture Cooperation (IICA) and the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB).

The inter-American delegation will meet with Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and the Foreign Minister Her Excellency Marie-Michèle Rey to discuss how the inter-American system can best support the Government of Haiti in the mid- to long term, as it moves forward into the reconstruction phase. The delegation will also meet with the head of MINUSTAH, Mr. Edmond Mulet and his team in order to strengthen systematic cooperation and communication between the inter-American system and the UN.

“I firmly believe that there is a need for all the institutions of the inter-American system and the international community, in general, to continue working through a sustained and coordinated approach in order to avoid duplication of efforts and utilize each organization’s core competency to benefit the people of Haiti,” stressed Assistant Secretary General Ramdin.

The visit will include an aerial tour of the earthquake stricken, capital city of Port-au-Prince. “This visit is extremely important for the partners of the inter-American system to better understand the scope and breadth of the tragedy and its impact on the Haitian people. It is evident that Haiti will need a great deal of assistance in rebuilding, but we should not forget that the Haitian people will also need other kinds of support, including psychological, in order to overcome the impact of this tragedy. The inter-American community has the moral imperative to assist Haiti in every way we can through this difficult period”, stated Ramdin.

Reference: E-026/10