PM returns from successful visits to UAE and Kenya

Prime Minister Garry Conille has described as successful, his visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kenya, as Haiti seeks to improve its socio-economic, security and political situation.

“Today, Haiti is on the verge of establishing a reliable and lasting partnership with the United Arab Emirates in security, energy, food and technological surveillance,” Conille told a news conference at the diplomatic lounge of Toussaint Louverture International Airport, on his return Tuesday.

He told reporters that the objective of his mission was to establish new partnerships with other countries, including the UAE and to meet with Kenyan President William Ruto, to help him raise awareness among the international community about the urgency of the multifaceted crisis in Haiti.

“At the initiative of the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed Ben Rachid Maktoum, I met with key people in several fields and we discussed the support, capable of helping to better address Haiti’s security problems.

“A regular flow of equipment containing drones, armoured vehicles, automatic weapons and ammunition, including spare parts, for the Haitian National Police (PNH) and the Haitian Armed Forces (FAd’H) in the long term,” Conille added.

He said, “in the coming weeks, 600 new Kenyan police officers will be deployed to Haiti, as part of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission”. CARICOM countries, including Jamaica and the Bahamas, are also participating in the MSS.

Kenya has been leading the MSS under a United Nations Security Council-sanctioned mandate as Haiti seeks to deal with an upsurge in criminal gang activities ever since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise at his private residence in July 2021.

“I am pleased to announce that an additional 600 Kenyan police officers are completing their pre-deployment training and will be ready for duty next month,” President Ruto told reporters last week,  calling on the international community to “urgently” rally behind the MSS that is also facing a lack of funding.

Prime Minister Conille said he is confident that other countries in the region will follow suit. “Thanks to the support of partner countries and countries friendly to Haiti, it is certain that we will succeed in resolving the security crisis definitively,”  he said, adding “To definitively win the victory against criminal groups, we need a critical mass of aid, necessary human resources, equipment and adequate technological tools to strengthen the PNH and the FAd’.

In addition, the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM)  country is also moving ahead with plans to stage its first general election with the appointment of a Provisional Electoral Council (CEP).
Elections are expected to be held by 2026. Last month, the Council of Ministers validated the CEP, which has long been demanded by the international community, to prepare the country for its first general elections since 2016, supervise them, and ensure the transparency of the upcoming electoral processes.

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Oct 16, CMC
CMC/af/ir/2024

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