Hillary Clinton at Investors Luncheon in Haiti Yesterday
Remarks to Investors Luncheon
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Sae-A Administration Building
Caracol, Haiti
October 22, 2012
(In
progress) the formal dedication. With me is Senator Patrick Leahy.
Senator Leahy, who has been – (applause) – a stalwart champion of
support for Haiti; and Secretary Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor –
(applause) – which (inaudible) as well in Haiti. And I think people know
our great ambassador, Pam White, and her predecessor, Ambassador Ken
Merten, who’s also here. (Applause.) And I don’t know where she is, but
my chief of staff and the principal driver of (inaudible) what we’ve
done in the Obama Administration, Cheryl Mills, as well. (Applause.)
Mr.
President and Prime Minister Lamothe, thank you both for championing
(inaudible) has done, which has been so critically important. I can’t
help but recognize we have three presidents. President Preval is here
somewhere in the crowd as well. (Applause.) (Inaudible.) And then, of
course, President Clinton (inaudible). (Applause.) He and I first came
to Haiti a very long time ago together. (Laughter.)
And I hope
that what all of you have seen today – the expo, the industrial park,
the housing development – has made very clear something we’ve been
saying to everyone: Haiti is truly open for business, and we want your
help. We see this partnership between governments like our own and the
private sector as absolutely essential in promoting and supporting
long-term prosperity in Haiti. We know very well that long-term
prosperity cannot come from just the provision of aid; there must be
trade and investment like we have seen here today.
So in our work
in the Administration on behalf of Haiti, we have looked for ways to
promote sustainable economic growth. And we have also partnered in a
serious manner with the government, because clearly, we wanted our
priorities to be following Haitian priorities. That’s the only way that
those will be lasting accomplishments for the people of Haiti.
Now,
in the years to come, there will be demand for more infrastructure,
whether it’s building roads, expanding the power grid, or improving and
even building ports. There’s a lot of opportunity in crafts and artisan
work, in tourism, agriculture, and manufacturing, an untapped labor
market that you’ve already seen here in Sae-A, and other companies that
are setting up here. And of course, Haiti has an unmatched trading
partner in the United States just a few hundred miles away.
For
our part, the United States is encouraging more investment in Haiti by
cutting down trade barriers for textile and apparel exports, and we’re
also doing it in a way that respects the country’s environment and
resources, re-invests in communities, and makes it clear we’re here for
the long term.
A single building was not here a year ago, and now
more than a thousand Haitians are coming to work. This is something that
is remarkable. In fact, four months ago, the plane I flew in on could
not have landed at the new airport in Cap Haitien. And today, its
expansion is going to open up even more opportunities.
So it gives
me great pleasure not only to encourage you to invest in Haiti but to
introduce President Martelly, who has shown us the commitment from the
Haitian Government and turned a slogan – “Haiti is Open for Business” –
into a reality.
Mr. President. (Applause.)
