Prime Minister of Haiti arrives in the US for meetings with officials

WASHINGTON, CMC – Haiti's newly appointed Prime Minister Dr Garry Conille, arrived  Washington in the US on Saturday for a visit set to include meetings with international financial institutions as well as a White House official.

The trip by Conille, heading the transitional government in the CARICOM member state, and other officials, comes just days after Kenyan police finally arrived in Haiti, on a long-awaited mission to help stabilise 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.

Conille, along with his economic and foreign ministers as well as other officials, will also hold “important working meetings” with the heads of international financial institutions, according to his office.

They will also visit Haiti's embassy in Washington and travel to New York, it said.

Haiti has long been rocked by gang violence, but 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, which 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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