Secretary-General departs for two-day visit to Haiti

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon departed New York today for a two-day visit to Haiti, where he will meet with Government officials, as well as representatives from churches, civil society and the private sector.

Tonight, Mr. Ban will attend a dinner hosted by President René Préval, which will be preceded by a joint press conference by the two men, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.

Also on Mr. Ban’s itinerary is a meeting with the leadership of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which currently comprises nearly 9,000 uniformed personnel.

Edmond Mulet, the UN Special Representative in Haiti, said that significant progress has been made in the Caribbean nation, partly due to the cooperation between the UN and the Haitian National Police. Security operations in Port-au-Prince, the capital, have helped to restore relative calm to Cité Soleil, Martissant, Grand Ravine and Ti Bois.

Mr. Ban is scheduled to travel from Haiti to Barbados, which holds the current chairmanship of the Caribbean regional cooperation body known as CARICOM, where he will meet with the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and the Governor General, as well as with the UN country team.