I would like first of all to thank the Government of Spain for hosting this International Conference on what is in reality the future of Haiti - its social and economic development. In providing this particular venue, La Casa de America, which is laden with symbolism, Spain has selected a location which is a worthy reflection of its increasingly key role in the development of the Caribbean region.

The International Conference in Port-au-Prince in July of this year was highly successful. The pledges of financial support for Haiti’s ambitious but necessary renewal and development plan exceeded expectations. Five months after the pledges of the Port-au-Prince conference, where does Haiti now stand? The political situation has stabilised. However, inadequate resources and the slow disbursement of funds, allied to the systemic constraints of Haiti’s state structures and persistent insecurity have been major impediments.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is of the view that the success of this Madrid conference must be measured by the progress made in finding ways to overcome these structural impediments to development. Lessons must be drawn, and applied, from the implementation experience of the Haitian state and of Haiti’s partners over the past two and a half years. In this regard we welcome the plans and strategies set out by the government of Haiti. They have our full support.

Madame Chair,

“The commitment of CARICOM to Haiti runs deep”. This assurance was given to President Préval by the Chairman of the Caribbean Community during the visit of a delegation of CARICOM Prime Ministers to Haiti on 18 October.

This visit symbolised the Community’s support for the new constitutional government of Haiti as it embarks on the Herculean task of renewal and renovation underpinned by the values of the rule of law, inclusiveness, dialogue and equitable development. The task confronting CARICOM is how best to support Haiti’s development efforts and to facilitate its full integration into the Caribbean Community.

In response to a request of President Préval who wishes to see Haiti complete its full integration into the Community as quickly as possible, the CARICOM Secretariat dispatched a multi-disciplinary technical team to Haiti for a week-long assessment mission in mid-October.

The Technical Team and its Haitian counterparts in the public and private sectors have made a number of recommendations, and identified the nature of the technical cooperation and partnership between Haiti and CARICOM. Their joint work set a framework and mapped out the way forward. The task will be complex and challenging. However, the political will is vigorous on both sides to attain the objective.

CARICOM believes that through the provision of its expertise, the recourse to its existing programmes of functional cooperation and of sectoral development from which Haiti can benefit, and Haiti’s access to grant money and concessionary funds from CARICOM institutions and sources (for example, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Petroleum Fund of Trinidad and Tobago), the Community can lend meaningful support to Haiti’s efforts at recovery and capacity building.

The Community’s normative moorings will facilitate Haiti’s strengthening of its rule of law and good governance processes. (In this regard, the Community will be part of the international observation of the coming elections.) CARICOM also believes that maintaining some form of supportive and coordinating institutional presence on the ground in Haiti, in the form of a CARICOM office, will also facilitate its technical cooperation partnership. As concerns this presence, assistance has been graciously offered by CARICOM's international partners.

Madame Chair,

As the Haitian authorities have emphasised in the lead up to and during this Conference, a “second wind” is required to complete the stabilisation of the country and place it on the path to social and economic development. The challenge now is efficiency. Efficiency in the coordination, harmonisation and predictability of aid disbursement. Efficiency also in the actions of the government through its systems and institutions to absorb and manage aid effectively. Efficiency in the contributions of the other sectors of Haitian society. Efficiency in the joint efforts to stabilise the country.

The notion of “co-responsibility” emphasised by the Haitian authorities is indeed of paramount importance, as it is only through the conjoined contributions of Haiti’s human, creative, technical and other resources and those of its regional and international partners that the elusive goal of sustainability can be achieved.

In conclusion, CARICOM reiterates its firm commitment to the Government and people of Haiti in their struggle to build a new and more equitable society. CARICOM also wishes to thank the international and hemispheric community for their support to our sister country, Haiti.

We often say that a window of opportunity has opened for Haiti. All of Haiti’s regional and international partners also have an opportunity which must be seized -- the opportunity to demonstrate that our partnership, our “co-responsibility”, well-coordinated and responsive to the Haitian reality, can indeed make Haiti a successful example of helping to lift a fragile state to a level of sustainable development and stability.

I thank you.