Haiti's René Préval meets with Clinton, seeks help from U.S. [image: Get Adobe Flash player] <http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer> [image: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomes Haitian President Rene Preval for discussions at the State Department in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009.] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomes Haitian President Rene Preval for discussions at the State Department in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. J. scott applewhite / AP
- *Photo* <http://www.miamiherald.com/1374/story/891405.html#x> Related Content - Haiti's electoral council disqualifies 40 of 105 candidates<http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/891593.html> - Complete Haiti coverage <http://www.miamiherald.com/haiti/> BY LESLEY CLARK [email protected] WASHINGTON -- Haitian President René Préval met with political and financial leaders during a weeklong trip to the capital, pressing them on the urgency of aid for the impoverished nation. He became the first head of state to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who pledged to work with the country. Preval is seeking between $75 million and $100 million in economic assistance and said the money would be used to create jobs. He said he stressed in meetings that Haiti needs immediate attention from the international community or risks losing what progress has been made. ''We believe we are at a serious turning point,'' Preval said through an interpreter. ``We can either win or lose.'' The country is still trying to recover from devastating back-to-back storms that killed dozens, left thousands homeless and destroyed crops and infrastructure. ''In order to save our stability, we need help right now,'' he said. ``This is not the time to [cut back].'' His visit included closed-door meetings with officials at the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He met late Thursday with Clinton, who said the pair would discuss ``ways that, along with the international community, we can help support Haiti and the Haitian people.'' ''We want to be working with them as they continue to build a vibrant democracy and a growing economy,'' Clinton said, adding that President Barack Obama shared her commitment to the country. -- "I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control, and at times hard to handle, but if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best." ~Marilyn Monroe --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Black Focus Inc." group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Black-Focus-Inc?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
