a1100: Moving ahead on the Hispaniola Fund plan (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Robert Benodin <r.benodin@worldnet.att.net>

Moving ahead on the Hispaniola Fund plan
3-6-02
The Haiti-DR Bilateral Commission met yesterday at the Ministry of Foreign
Relations and decided to move ahead on the Hispaniola Fund Plan. The plan
would be funded with money primarily from the release of the Dominican
Republic debt with the US. It would be used to plant trees, save river
basins, build industrial free zones, hydroelectric dams, ports, highways,
and develop small and medium-size businesses along the border with Haiti.
In the meeting, both governments agreed to prepare a concrete agenda to
begin lobbying for the creation of the fund. The scope of the fund has been
expanded to include other donations from the United States, Canada, Europe
and Asia, said Santiago Tejada, in charge of trade negotiations for the
Ministry of Foreign Relations.
Haiti’s Minister of Finance Gustave Flaubert said that the Haitian private
sector is motivated by the advances in the creation of the fund given the
lack of investment in Haiti. “We are very pleased to work with our Dominican
friends. This is creating a synergy among the two countries that will
increase the programs to benefit both nations,” he said.