HAITI / CLINTON

On his third visit to Haiti since being named UN special envoy, Bill Clinton addresses an investor conference in Port-au-Prince aimed at encouraging investment to build up the industries in the garment, agriculture and energy sectors. MINUSTAH

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:01
• Production Date: 2 October 2009
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: PEACE AND SECURITY; ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; FINANCING; INVESTMENT BANKING
• Geographic Subject: HAITI; UNITED NATIONS STABILIZATION MISSION IN HAITI - MINUSTAH
• MAMS Id: U091002a

Description

STORY: HAITI / CLINTON
TRT: 1.01
SOURCE: MINUSTAH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / FRENCH/ NATS

DATELINE: 1 OCTOBER 2009, PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

Shotlist

1. Wide shot, conference, people sitting around tables
2. SOUNDBITE (English) William Jefferson Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti:
“We know this is not only a great opportunity for investors to come and export to other markets, but also to people of Haiti to have a broader and secure and prosperous future.”
3. Med shot, audience listening
4. Pan left, from fish basin to Clinton and group of investors
5. Zoom in, Prime Minister Michele Pierre Louis, President Clinton, President Preval and Luiz Alberto Moreno on stage
6. SOUNDBITE (French) Michele Pierre Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti :
“The Haitian state is currently looking at ways to improve the climate to invest, how to create jobs in agriculture and in tourism and how to benefit from the HOPE legislation, which is an exceptional law.”
7. Wide shot, press in front of stage
8. Med shot, Bill Clinton and Rene Preval signing, getting up and embracing each other

Storyline

Two months after his last visit, the UN special envoy for Haiti, former United States president Bill Clinton, has led a delegation of 500 business leaders from around the world to the Caribbean country in a bid to unlock what he called Haiti’s “great potential for development.”

The delegation’s two-day visit coincided with an Inter-American Development Bank Meeting where Bill Clinton spoke to possible investors.

SOUNDBITE (English) William Jefferson Clinton, United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti:
“We know this is not only a great opportunity for investors to come and export to other markets, but also to people of Haiti to have a broader and secure and prosperous future.”

The delegation visited a fish farm in Croix des Bouquets, 20 kilometers outside of the capital Port au Prince. It is one of many micro-enterprises where investors can put their money. The agriculture sector is one of the main sectors where investment is badly needed.

Clinton’s visit goes along with the "HOPE II" (Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement) legislation, a trade benefit program passed by the US congress in 2008. It gives Haiti ten years of special tariff exemptions, enabling businesses to put thousands of people to work.

SOUNDBITE (French) Michele Pierre Louis, Prime Minister of Haiti:
“The Haitian state is currently looking at ways to improve the climate to invest, how to create jobs in agriculture and in tourism and how to benefit from the HOPE legislation, which is an exceptional law.”

President Rene Preval and Bill Clinton signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) will set up an office and continue to work in Haiti in order to improve especially the situation of children affected by HIV/Aids in Haiti.

His visit to Haiti marks his third so far this year and his second since being appointed as Special Envoy by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in May.