Montreal summit to focus on aid coordination plan
Coordinating the response to the devastating 7.0-magnitude quake is crucial after Haiti’s government offices, roads and communications infrastructure were destroyed or badly damaged.
The meeting, whose dignitaries will include US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, is expected to affirm the central role of the United States in post-quake Haiti – already illustrated by its massive military presence and relief efforts there.
Tensions emerged last week between Washington and Paris over the US control of air traffic at the Port-au-Prince airport – the country’s small albeit main port of entry – but France defused the row.
The anti-American leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia decried the presence of US troops in Haiti, with the number of US military personnel operating on land and offshore to assist aid operations expected to swell to 20,000 by tomorrow.
The three South American countries were not invited to the Montreal talks that will bring together Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, Costa Rica and Spain.
Monday’s meeting will be held in Montreal, a city affectionately described as Haiti’s second capital.
