World Bank boss stresses strong support for Haiti
Published: Friday | October 24, 2008
World Bank President Robert Zoellick (left) shakes hands with Haiti's President René Préval at the end of a news conference at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, last Wednesday. Zoellick completed a three-day trip to Haiti with a pledge to support its recovery from deadly hurricanes with long-term economic programmes. - AP
WASHINGTON (CMC):
WORLD BANK President Robert Zoellick Wednesday emphasised strong support for Haiti's efforts in overcoming poverty and recovering from recent natural disasters.
"The Haitian government and all donors need to push forward on the broader development agenda, work together on recovery and recon-struction efforts, and foster a new vision for medium-term growth and development, drawing on Haiti's own National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction," said Zoellick on completion of a two-day visit to the French-speaking Caribbean country.
Strong aid for country
On October 9, Zoellick announced US$25 million in additional emergency grants for Haiti to rebuild major bridges and complete other rehabilitation work on key infrastructure, as well as expand existing programmes to help reduce the country's vulnerability to natural disasters and strengthen its capacity to respond to them.
During his first visit to Haiti, Zoellick, accompanied by the World Bank's vice-president for Latin America and the Caribbean, Pamela Cox, and country director for the Caribbean, Yvonne Tsikata, un-derscored the bank's strong support for the Caribbean nation.
He met with President René Préval, Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis, and members of the Cabinet, and discussed emergency recovery, the food crisis, economic perspectives, and medium and long-term development plans, the Washington-based lending agency said.
"To respond to the natural disasters that have destroyed our country, my government has mobilised nearly US$200 million to cope with the emergency and distress of our citizens," Pierre-Louis said.
"Our primary objective, however, is to implement, in the framework of a national effort and with the support of the international community, a carefully prepared and sustainable reconstruction policy for our cities and countryside, to reduce their vulnerability," she added.
The World Bank said Zoellick also had the opportunity to witness first hand the extent of flooding damage in disaster-affected areas, including Gonaives, and saw the severe destruction in infrastructure, particularly of homes, bridges and roads.