U.S. aims at stability in Haiti, Clinton says

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton assured Haitians on Thursday that the latest aid from America is not just a short-term fix for a country still struggling from last year’s devastating storms and grinding poverty that is among the worst in the world.

Clinton told reporters after riding in her motorcade through the pothole-strewn roads of Port-au-Prince that she and President Barack Obama have a shared goal of creating jobs and ensuring stability in a country that has had little of either in recent years.

“The president and I had an excellent conversation reiterating what is his great hope: that he will see progress begun and finished to give the future back to the people of Haiti,” she said at a news conference inside the National Palace.

The U.S., Haiti’s largest benefactor, pledged $50 million in new aid at a donors conference Tuesday in Washington, bringing the American total for the year to $302 million.

In all, the international donors conference raised $324 million for Haiti despite entreaties from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton; and others that $600 million more is needed for economic development and hurricane recovery.

Secretary Clinton, at a joint news conference with Haitian President Rene Preval, said the U.S. commitment to Haiti goes beyond what emerged at the donors conference.

Preval said Haiti is grateful for the foreign assistance, which makes up about 60 percent of the government’s budget, but said his country must become self-reliant.