Speaking in New York at the "Towards and New Future for Haití" donor conference, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, First Vice President of the Spanish government, called on the international community to help Haiti build a stable, participative, honest and transparent government.
Speaking in New York at the "Towards and New Future for Haití" donor conference, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, First Vice President of the Spanish government, called on the international community to help Haiti build a stable, participative, honest and transparent government. The conference was sponsored by the United Nations in collaboration with the governments of the United States and Haiti, together with the most important donor countries: Spain, Brazil, France and Canada.
The European Union (EU) and the United States undertook to contribute nearly 80% of the 3,900 million dollars requested by the UN to reconstruct Haiti after last January's earthquake.
Catherine Ashton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, announced the contributions before the representatives of 136 countries attending today's international donors conference.
For Spain, which currently occupies the Presidency of the European Union, reconstruction of the country must include "improvements to economic and infrastructure foundations", but “above all, institutional foundations".
De la Vega went on to say that international help should not be limited to physical reconstruction, but should "with the same determination and dedication" help Haiti to build "solid and fully democratic" institutions and a political organisation capable of guaranteeing stable, participative, transparent and citizen-focussed governance".
"A State capable of guaranteeing the people of Haiti basic services and an efficient and honest administration working in their interests", she added, stating that only "foundations based on good governance can and should sustain the future of Haiti".
As the country's third largest donor, and the largest among EU countries, Spanish institutions, businesses and other social organisations have been helping Haiti from the day the earthquake struck.