Clintons Land In Haiti & Encouraged Foreigners To Invest In Haiti
October 23, 2012
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday hailed Haitian reconstruction after the devastating 2010 earthquake, drawing parallels between the “American dream” and the “Haitian dream.”Clinton was speaking at the formal opening of an industrial zone meant to help boost economic development and create 37,000 jobs in the impoverished country still reeling from the quake, which killed at least 250,000 people.
“In the United States, we pride ourselves on the promise of the American dream. And we have seen many Haitian Americans achieve that American dream,” Clinton said. “Now, Haitians here in Haiti have the very same drive.”
The top US diplomat was accompanied by her husband and former US president Bill, whose charitable Clinton Foundation is very active in Haiti. Others attending the event included Haitian President Michel Martelly, his predecessor Rene Preval, British tycoon Richard Branson and actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn. In her remarks, Clinton underscored that while the creation of new jobs was critically important, other sectors were in dire need of development.
“In addition to effective government, Haiti needs a strong justice sector, free and fair elections, housing, energy, schools, health care — all of which will serve the people of Haiti, but also attract even more investment,” she said.- Continue Reading Here
Backdropped by images of Haiti’s independence from France, U.S. actor and comedian Ben Stiller poses for a photo with an unidentified man at the Caracol Industrial Park, in Caracol, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. The Haitian government will host Hillary and Bill Clinton, a delegation of foreign investors and a crowd of celebrities including Stiller, Sean Penn and Donna Karan, Monday, to showcase the marquee project of the U.S. aid effort since the 2010 earthquake. The Clintons and their allies hope the $300 million facility will transform the northern part of this impoverished country by providing thousands of desperately needed jobs. Photo: Dieu Nalio Chery / APSecretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, center, accompanied by, from left, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Caracol Ekam Housing site engineer Mario Nicoleau, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Haitian President Michel Martelly, tours the Caracol Ekam Housing Site in Caracol, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012.
Actor Sean Penn and model Petra Nemcova talk at the grand opening ceremony of the new Caracol Industrial Park in Caracol, Haiti, Monday, Oct. 22, 2012. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and husband, former President Bill Clinton, arrived in northern Haiti Monday leading a delegation of foreign investors and a crowd of celebrities to showcase the centerpiece of the U.S. effort to help the country recover from the 2010 earthquake. Photo: Larry Downing, Pool / AP
