The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is traveling to Haiti this week to learn first-hand about the progress in security that has been achieved in the midst of a deep crisis that dates back to 2021; as well as to the Dominican Republic, with a view to the Summit of the Americas in 2025.
This was announced this Wednesday at a press conference by the Under Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian Nichols, specifying that Blinken will head to Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, this Thursday to meet with Prime Minister Garry Conille and the transition council.
“In recent months, we have seen Haiti take important steps forward (…) we have seen tangible signs of progress, such as the opening of the airport, the resumption of commercial flights, the increase in economic activity and movement in some areas of Port-au-Prince,” Nichols stressed.
Blinken is also scheduled to meet with senior officials from the Kenyan-led security mission and the Haitian police, whose agents have begun “much more active operations” in recent days.
“We hope that in the very near future more troops from other countries will be deployed, but for the operation to be successful, we have to ensure that the international community provides the financial resources in addition to the manpower and equipment that the force needs to deploy,” he said.
From Haiti, he will travel to the neighboring Dominican Republic to discuss with President Luis Abinader a variety of issues, from economic and security issues, to preparations for the next Summit of the Americas in 2025 to be held there.
