Donors pledge support for Haiti's economic recovery plan

(Left to right) Shintaro Ito, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan; Rama Yade, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights of France; Beverly J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, Canadian International Development Agency; Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti; Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the IDB; Hillary R. Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State; Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary General; José Miguel Insulza, OAS Secretary General; Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the IMF; Robert B. Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group.<;P> Delegates from 28 countries and multilateral organizations, gathered at the headquarters of the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C., today expressed their support for Haiti’s economic recovery plan.

Donors pledged to provide $324 million in additional aid to Haiti over the next two years, of which $41 million is for budget support in 2009. This fresh assistance complements the financing previously committed by international community partners, who are currently supporting projects totaling $3 billion in Haiti.

Haitian Prime Minister Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, who co-chaired the conference with IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, thanked the representatives of the international community for renewing their partnership with Haiti.

“I come here with a sense of urgency, but also with lots of optimism because I believe that together we will seize this opportunity to make a real difference and change forever the course of history,” she said. “The support that you will grant Haiti today will help us provide a short-term response to basic needs in terms of economic reconstruction and rehabilitation, after the devastation caused last summer by four hurricanes in a row in less than a month.”

President Moreno underscored the need for donors to improve aid coordination to help Haiti safeguard the progress it had made in political, economic and social stability before the past year’s external shocks.

“We are all aware that this event is just one step along the way,” Moreno said. “But it is the right step, in the right direction and with the right partners.”

Donors applauded the leadership of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, whose efforts to focus the world’s attention on Haiti’s plight has helped reinvigorate donor commitment to the country’s development.

“Haiti may count among the world’s poorer nations,” Ban said. “Yet the plain and simple fact is that its prospects, today, are better than almost any other emerging economy.”

Delegates said their governments and institutions would ensure that their support is aligned with the priorities of the Haitian two-year plan, which seeks to rekindle economic growth, rebuild infrastructure damaged by last year’s storms, expand access to basic public services and reduce the country’s vulnerability to natural disasters.

The recovery program, donors agreed, could generate as many as 150,000 jobs over the next two years. Delegates welcomed the Haitian government’s plans to capitalize the opportunities opened by the HOPE II Act, a U.S. trade legislation that grants Haitian exports preferential access to U.S. markets. They also encouraged authorities to work closely with the private sector to improve Haiti’s business climate.

“Now is the time to step up our investment in Haiti, not just because the situation is dire and because the consequences of inaction could lead to significantly greater human suffering, but because Haiti has a real opportunity to make substantial progress,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said. “It has a plan to do so, and it has demonstrated the determination to carry it out.”

Delegates recognized Haiti’s efforts to maintain economic stability and encouraged the government to maintain sound monetary and fiscal policies, continue strengthening the public sector’s financial management and pursue reforms that will improve transparency and public administration.

The heads of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank appraised the conference on Haiti’s progress towards reaching the completion point of the Enhanced Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, which will enable Haiti to benefit from debt relief. The process may be finished by the end of June, after which the IDB, the IMF and the World Bank stand to provide Haiti with $1 billion in immediate debt relief.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said debt cancellation could free up to $40 million a year for poverty-reducing and pro-growth spending in Haiti.

World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick said: “Haiti is at a turning point. Under a democratically elected president, Haiti has an opportunity to break the cycle of violence and under-development.”

Haiti’s development partners agreed to continue working with the government to ensure the sustainability of investments in infrastructure and basic public services.

The Haitian government reiterated its commitment to regularly present detailed and timely information about its budget process and program execution. Donors underscored the importance of Parliament's role in moving forward with an ambitious reform agenda.

Besides Haiti’s traditional partners from the international community, the conference attracted representatives from civil society organizations that either run programs in Haiti or have been strong advocates for the Haitian people.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, whose foundation is supporting grassroots development projects in Haiti, gave a keynote address at the conference luncheon, where he encouraged NGOs to coordinate their efforts more closely with the Haitian government and international donors.

“Haiti’s got a chance, the best chance in my lifetime,” Bill Clinton said.