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