Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PARIS4786
2006-07-12 17:40:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

HAITIAN PRESIDENT'S JUNE 29-30 VISIT TO FRANCE

Tags:  PREL FR HA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFR #4786 1931740
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 121740Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9476
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 004786 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2016
TAGS: PREL FR HA
SUBJECT: HAITIAN PRESIDENT'S JUNE 29-30 VISIT TO FRANCE


Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Will Owen for reasons 1.4b/d

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 004786

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/10/2016
TAGS: PREL FR HA
SUBJECT: HAITIAN PRESIDENT'S JUNE 29-30 VISIT TO FRANCE


Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Will Owen for reasons 1.4b/d


1. (C) Summary: Recently inaugurated Haitian President Rene
Preval visited France June 29-30 and met with President
Chirac, PM Villepin, and Defense Minister Alliot-Marie.
According to an MFA contact, Preval underscored a consistent
message in all his meetings: Haiti would focus on agriculture
and tourism to spur economic growth, and looked to
development assistance to improve the situation in a range of
areas, including security and road infrastructure. The MFA
contact said France was generally pleased with the visit,
especially by the effort Preval made to bring with him from
Haiti a delegation that included members of the opposition.
After the meeting with Preval, Chirac declared that
"France,s heart beats for Haiti," and that France was ready
to assist Haiti during "this exceptional moment of hope for
Haiti and the Haitian people." The visit focused almost
exclusively on French and EU assistance to Haiti. End
Summary.


2. (C) Poloffs met July 7 with Cecile Merle, the MFA,s desk
officer for Haiti. Merle confirmed that Preval had met with
President Chirac, PM Villepin, and Defense Minister
Alliot-Marie, as well as President of the National Assembly
Jean-Louis Debre, President of the International Organization
of Francophone Countries Abdou Diouf, and UNESCO DG Matsuura.
Preval,s meeting with Chirac, said Merle, focused on
stabilizing Haiti,s volatile political and security
environment. Citing the need for security, judicial, police,
health, education, and infrastructure development, Preval
seemed to prioritize all the aforementioned sectors, without
clearly identifying which ones should take precedence, said
Merle. Preval told Chirac that security reforms would be
needed in order to hold upcoming local elections
successfully. More generally, Preval insisted, security
concerns affecting everyday life in the country had to be
addressed in order to prompt lasting economic growth and
social stability. Preval explained that any security reforms
would have to occur in tandem with judicial and police
reforms and would require much technical assistance from the
international community. He praised MINUSTAH and thanked
France for its contributions to it.


3. (C) In public and private statements, said Merle, Preval
called for greater investment in the agricultural and tourism
sectors in order to spur economic growth. The Haitian
President also highlighted the need for economic reform but
then pointed out that perhaps greater assistance rebuilding
roads was needed first so that goods could be more
efficiently transported to markets. Preval said the
international development assistance community should focus
on several priority areas. Merle commented that Haiti,s
needs were so broad that it was difficult to organize a
division of labor among the donors. Preval also underlined
that Haiti needed transfer of know-how as much as it needed
transfer of funds.


4. (C) Merle confirmed that Chirac had promised three million
euros of immediate aid to Haiti, in addition to 32 million
euros promised for the medium term through the ICF. (Note:
French bilateral development assistance to Haiti is currently
funneled through the Interim Cooperation Framework (ICF),
which was established at a donors, conference in Washington
in 2004 and developed at a similar conference in Cayenne in
March 2005. France contributes 32 million euros to financing
the ICF. France is also the leading contributor to the
European Development Fund, providing 23.4 percent of the
fund's 239 million euro budget. End Note).
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm

STAPLETON