WASHINGTON, CMC – Haiti’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Dr. Garry Conille, arrived on Saturday for a visit set to include meetings with international financial institutions and a White House official.
The trip by Conille, heading the transitional government in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member state, and other officials, comes just days after Kenyan police finally arrived in Haiti on a long-awaited mission to help stabilize the Caribbean nation, upended by powerful gangs.
The visit also comes as Washington has promised generous funding for the UN-backed mission but ruled out sending American troops.
Conille will meet with Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer on Monday.
According to his office, Conille, his economic and foreign ministers, and other officials will also hold “important working meetings” with the heads of international financial institutions.
It said they will also visit Haiti’s embassy in Washington and travel to New York.
Haiti has long been rocked by gang violence. Still, conditions sharply worsened at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in Port-au-Prince, saying they wanted to overthrow then-prime minister Ariel Henry.
In March, Henry announced that he would step down and hand over executive power to a transitional council named Conille as the country’s interim prime minister on May 29.
The violence in Port-au-Prince has affected food security and humanitarian aid access, with much of the city in the hands of gangs accused of abuses, including murder, rape, looting, and kidnappings.
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