President Fernández Proposes Establishment of a Permanent Committee to Monitor Situation in Haiti

President Fernández Proposes Establishment of a Permanent Committee to Monitor Situation in Haiti

Dominican President, Leonel Fernández, on Monday proposed the creation of a permanent committee to monitor the work activities that should be adopted to confront the immediate problems that Haiti is facing after last Tuesday’s earthquake.

“The entire world is indebted to Haiti. “We Latin Americans feel morally obligated to the Republic of Haiti,” the president emphasized.

The Prime Minister said the strategic plan can be coordinated with the support of international organizations and countries that are helping in the recuperation efforts in Haiti, according to the Office of the Presidency on Information, Press, and Publicity.

Fernández proposed that the plan should provide an immediate, mid-term, and long-term response for the sustainable development of the neighboring country.

At the official inauguration of the work sessions in the summit “United for a Better Future for Haiti,” held in the Cariátides Salon in the National Palace, the head of state expressed hope that in the case of Haiti, “the tragedy will not be forgotten when it is no longer included on the front page of the newspapers.”

Fernández said that historically Haiti has been a forgotten nation and that the time has come for the international community to respond to the needs of this neighboring country. “The entire world is indebted to Haiti. “We Latin Americans feel morally obligated to the Republic of Haiti,” the president emphasized.

He said that Haiti has historically suffered injustice, expressed in many different ways.

President Fernández advised that the moment has arrived for the international community to return to Haiti what belongs to it: the dignity of its people.

“We are here today, President René Preval, with the entire international community to help you, the government of Haiti, and the people of Haiti, to overcome these historic difficulties and integrate fully into the modern world, to progress, well-being, to what with the spirit of dignity a people such as yours deserves in the 21st century,” he added upon expressing words of welcome to the foreign dignitaries gathered in the country.

In the meeting, which began with words from the Secretary of State of Foreign Relations, engineer Carlos Morales Troncoso, also participating were the President of Haiti, René Preval, and the vice-president of the Spanish government, Maria Teresa Fernández de La Vega, in representation of the Presidency of the European Union.

Also in attendance were ministers and vice-ministers of foreign relations, representatives and general secretaries of international organizations, heads of delegations and honored guests from Europe, the United States and Latin America.