Haitian President Rene Preval, who heads the most impoverished country in the Western hemisphere, began his first official US visit yesterday at the invitation of US President George W. Bush.
As the centerpiece of the four-day visit, Preval is expected to meet Bush tomorrow for talks on a range of issues including UN efforts to stabilize Haiti, as well as the fight against poverty and the illegal drug trade.
In addition to the Bush talks, "I will have working meetings with members of his administration including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice" and the commerce and homeland security chiefs, Preval said.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said last week that the Bush-Preval meeting would focus on UN attempts to bring stability to Haiti and on ways to increase prosperity in the poverty-stricken Caribbean nation.
Bush's invitation was announced last Thursday, one day before 22 Haitians died trying to escape their violence-torn country when their overcrowded boat capsized in shark-infested waters near the Turks and Caicos islands.
The US remains Haiti's largest trading partner and largest donor of humanitarian assistance.
Left-leaning Preval was president of Haiti from 1996 to 2001 and came to power again last year, after an armed uprising in 2004 ousted former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Last year's elections for president and parliament were organized under the auspices of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti.
Asked about his attendance last month as an observer at a Latin American economic and "anti-imperialist" summit called by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Preval said it should not harm Haiti's ties with Washington.
"The US buys 80 percent of Venezuela's oil," said Preval, who sealed a deal with Caracas to get a significant discount on oil products and get a Venezuelan-built refinery in Haiti that could deliver 180,000 barrels per day.
Asked about Haiti's endemic fight against illegal drug trafficking, Preval said he intended to ask Bush for extra help in this realm since Haiti did not have the means to combat drug lords alone.
"As long as the demand exists, there will be production and Haiti will always be used a country of transit," Preval said, indicating the war on drugs was one of his top priorities.
"Drugs are an essential factor in Haiti's instability and insecurity," he said.
Eighty percent of the Haitian population lives below the poverty line on less than US$2 a day.
Preval is also to meet Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and African-American lawmakers from the Congressional Black Caucus including Congressman Chuck Rangel.
The Haitian leader's trip is to last until Friday and is scheduled to include visits with representatives of the World Bank, IMF and the Inter-American Development Bank.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese