Andris Piebalgs will be arriving in Haiti on Tuesday (March 6). What will he do in the earthquake-hit nation?
Apart from meeting Haitian President Michel Martelly, the EU development commissioner will be announcing an aid package worth €100 million ($132 million) for the provision of basic services in the country. The assistance also aims to improve the country’s infrastructure and support the government’s capacity-building efforts.
During his two-day visit, Piebalgs will inaugurate the judicial court, a primary school and a pedagogical center, which offers training for teachers. He will also inaugurate the road section between Mirebalais and Hinche, part of the new road between the capital, Port-au-Prince, and Cap Haïtien. The road will help reduce the eight-hour journey between the two cities to three hours.
The European Union is one of the biggest contributors to the earthquake relief in Haiti. In the aftermath of the quake in 2010, it made a single pledge of €1.2 billion to Haiti. The European Commission, one of the main institutions of the European Union, has already fulfilled 75 percent of its €522 million pledge.
Read more on EU’s work in Haiti and other development aid news online, and subscribe to The Development Newswire to receive top international development headlines from the world’s leading donors, news sources and opinion leaders — emailed to you FREE every business day.
