Presidential

Haiti, Ecuador Presidents Seek Cooperation on Defense

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (defend.ht) - President Michel Martelly and Minister of National Defense, Jean Rodolphe Joazile, left Port-au-Prince on Tuesday bound for Ecuador, for an official visit of 48 hours during which several meetings on cooperation and matters of civil defense will be held with Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa.

The Haitian delegation was welcomed at the Mariscal Sucre Airport in Quito, where President Martelly received military honors. The Head of State traveled to the Plaza de la Independencia, accompanied by the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patiño, for the ceremony of laying a wreath in honor of the heroes of Independence of this friendly country of Haiti.

After filing with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, Ricardo Patiño, a wreath on the Plaza de la Independencia in Quito in honor of the heroes of this country, Martelly hosted a lunch hosted by President Correa.

For its part, the Ministry of Defense announced that Minister Rodolphe Joazile, alongside the Haitian leader, "explored with his Ecuadorian counterpart the different tracks of possible exchanges between the two countries especially in civil defense."

Speaking of strengthening bilateral cooperation based on the "defense of Haiti," a statement said, without elaborating, that Mr. Joazile will be back Wednesday night in Port-au-Prince "with certainly good news for the nation."

Stressing the importance of technical and financial assistance from Ecuador, a release from the Presidency's Communication Office noted that in the field of infrastructure, Ecuador has funded to the tune of $13 million a project in Artibonite (north). A new disbursement of $15 million has been allocated for the second phase of the program to be conducted in another region to be determined.

Before this visit to Ecuador, a full member of ALBA, President Martelly had mentioned last week, Panama's desire to restore the army in Haiti during his five-years (2011-2016).

Faced with a lack of resources and opposition from Haiti's traditional partners, Martelly had put a damper on the project of rebuilding the military dissolved since 1995.

In the Presidency's press release it read that the "President of the Republic is satisfied with the trust placed in him by the international partners who, like Haitians, are convinced of his willingness and determination to improve the living conditions of the Haitian people. Thus, the Head of State will increase efforts to continue serving the nation with dignity in taking concrete action to benefit all."