PM LAUNCHES HOPE COMMISSION

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 001277

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTEX BTIO BEXP ETRD ECON PGOV PREL HA
SUBJECT: PM LAUNCHES HOPE COMMISSION

REF: PORT AU PRINCE 1019


1. (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified -- please
protect accordingly.


2. (SBU) Summary: Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis
formally introduced the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity
through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Commission on July
23, and stressed the importance of the HOPE Act to Haiti.
Officials did not/not stamp any shipping invoices with HOPE
visas at the ceremony, and the GoH rescheduled the stamping
ceremony for July 25. Progress toward the realization of
HOPE benefits advances haltingly as the GoH grapples with
internal coordination. End summary.


2. (U) The Ambassador on July 23 attended an impromptu HOPE
ceremony at the PM's office. Prime Minister Alexis spoke
about the HOPE Act's potential to create employment, the
necessity of partnership between the public and private
sectors, and the impact of HOPE on sustainable development in
Haiti. Alexis introduced the HOPE commission and outlined
their responsibilities as set forth in the HOPE decree.
(Note: Only four of the ten commission members attended. End
note.) He also thanked the USG and the American people for
their support.


3. (U) Ironically, Minister of Commerce Maguy Durce did not
attend the July 23 event. In addition to the PM, keynote
speakers included Ronald Beaudin, president of the HOPE
Commission, and Maryse Kedar, president of the Association of
Haitian Industrialists (ADIH). The Ambassador was not a
formal speaker; however, she answered questions from the
press at the end of the event.


4. (U) Georges Sassine, owner of textile firm AG Textiles,
told Econoff prior to the event that the PM would stamp the
first official HOPE visas to commemorate the commencement of
shipping under the HOPE Act. However, at the July 23
ceremony the stamp itself was secured in a separate location,
thus Alexis did not preside over the stamping. The GoH
rescheduled the stamping for July 25, at which time two bills
of shipping for Island Apparel SA (run by Fritz Felchlin and
Andrew Ansaldi III) received HOPE visas, according to
Sassine.


5. (SBU) Comment: The first official stamping of HOPE visas
is a success for the GoH. However, the quiet make-up
stamping ceremony will likely not have the same public impact
as the event at the PM's office would have had. Despite
Alexis' June 6 remarks to the Ambassador that he would work
to improve coordination between his office, the Ministry of
Commerce and customs (ref A),the haphazard nature of the
first ceremony demonstrated that the GoH is still suffering
from internal disorganization. Additionally, the poor
attendance by the commission members raises questions of how
effective the commission will be in implementing the HOPE
decree.
SANDERSON