PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Albert Ramdin has reiterated the regional body’s dedication to advancing peace, stability and socio-economic development in Haiti.

According to Caribbean Net News, the remarks were made upon the conclusion of Ramdin’s recent trip to the country, during which he attended several high-level meetings with prominent Haitian authorities.

This includes persons such as Haitian President René Prèval, Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis, Foreign Affairs Minister Alrich Nicolas and UN Special Representative Hedi Annabi.

Among the issues discussed were the impact of drug trafficking, constitutional reform and the current electoral process, which authorities have requested be observed by an OAS mission as a means of safeguarding the credibility of the process.

The Assistant Secretary-General stressed the importance of strong leadership and unity for the successful pursuit of social and economic development.

“The OAS has a longstanding relationship with Haiti and its people. We will continue to support the effort towards strengthening the democratic process, elections and rule of law, as well as social and economic development,” Ramdin said.

He confirmed that advanced planning had begun on a donor conference to finance the National Strategy for Growth and Poverty Reduction, a Haitian initiative aimed at fostering development and creating jobs and prosperity. He also revealed that a meeting to facilitate revision of the programme had been planned for April in Washington DC.

Ramdin’s Haitian visit saw his participation in the opening of a resource centre for disabled persons earlier this week. The project was implemented by the Haitian OAS office with the financial support of the US Agency for International Development.