On Friday, the President Michel Martelly, went to Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite, where he participated in the official ceremony of handover of a lot of materials and equipment for the construction work of (roads, bridges, irrigation canals and ten schools) in this department. This donation, of the Ecuador through the new Ecuadorian contingent of military engineering based in this department, falls within the framework of the support of this friendly country in the reconstruction of Haiti. An amount of U.S. $15 million is intended to the entire works.

The ceremony took place in the presence among others, of Haitian and Ecuadorian Ministers of Defence, MM. Jean Rodolphe Joazile and Miguel Carvajal Aguirre, and the Ambassador of Ecuador in Haiti, Mr. Carlos Lopez.

The occasion was also favorable for the Head of State to symbolically give access, to the Ecuadorian contingent, back to Petite Rivière de l'Artibonite, to support the development efforts underway in the region. "[...] The development must continue in this area," said the President Martelly, who asked that two hospitals are also constructed in Petite Rivière and sent on behalf of the Haitian people, its thanks to the authorities, to the Ecuadorian people and pledged his support to the Ecuadorian military engineering company, which contributes to the construction of infrastructure in the Artibonite.

In addition, during this ceremony, a bilateral agreement relating to the training of cadets and of Haitian engineers in the military training centers of Ecuador, was signed between the Ministers and Jean Rodolphe Joazile and Miguel Carvajal Aguirre.

"This cooperation agreement in the field of defense, will be implemented by the end of month by the selection, in Haiti, of a thirty engineers and aspiring cadets. The Republic of Ecuador will train our engineers for ten months, in military engineering, in order to acquire the necessary skills in the areas of construction and water purification," stated Minister Joazile.

The commitment of mutual respect and the territorial inviolability and the non-intervention in internal affairs, is clearly stated in this document, which paves the way for a promising friendship between the two countries.

Giving a capital importance to the Civil Defense, the Minister of Defence, Jean Rodolphe Joazile praised the Ecuadorian experience in the field and thanked the Government to accept to share their expertise with Haiti.

HL/ HaitiLibre