NEWS RELEASES

March 14, 2005 (4:50 p.m. EST)
No. 45

MINISTER PETTIGREW TO TRAVEL TO HAITI AND FRENCH GUIANA

Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew today announced that he would be in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 16 and 17, 2005. The Minister also announced that he would be taking part in a ministerial meeting on Haiti on March 18, 2005, in Cayenne, French Guiana.

“During my trip to Haiti and at the Cayenne ministerial meeting, I plan to reiterate the importance Canada places on stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Haiti,” indicated Minister Pettigrew. “I will also be discussing with my counterparts Canada’s priorities with regard to the Interim Cooperation Framework, namely, the urgency of establishing a sound disarmament program and the importance of supporting the holding of elections in Haiti within the prescribed time frame. The international community must fully support the implementation of these priorities.”

While in Haiti, Minister Pettigrew will take part in numerous meetings with interim government officials and with members of political parties and the Provisional Electoral Council. Discussions will focus mainly on Haiti’s current situation and the municipal, legislative and presidential elections scheduled for the fall of 2005. The Minister will also be meeting with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), Juan Gabriel Valdés. Minister Pettigrew will be accompanied by Denis Coderre, Special Adviser for Haiti, and members of the Haitian diaspora in Canada.

On March 18, at France’s invitation, Minister Pettigrew will travel to Cayenne to attend a meeting of ministers from the countries most involved in Haiti, including Canada, the United States and a number of Latin American countries. Participants will consider concrete projects that could be implemented quickly to benefit the Haitian people in areas such as infrastructure, health, education and rural development. Haiti’s interim prime minister, Gérard Latortue, and Mr. Valdés will also attend this meeting, which is a follow-up to the International Donors Conference held in July 2004 in Washington.

The Government of Canada is contributing more than $180 million over two years to reconstruction and development efforts, including $154 million in support of the transitional government’s Interim Cooperation Framework and 100 civilian police officers for MINUSTAH. Canada has also committed $17 million to facilitate the smooth running of Haiti’s electoral process.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Sébastien Théberge
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca