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Miami Herald WASHINGTON -- Signaling a strong U.S. commitment to Haiti, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit the storm-ravaged Caribbean nation next week to meet with President René Préval.
State Department officials have not yet confirmed the visit, but Haitian officials say they have been told that Clinton plans to make a brief visit to the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Thursday while en route to Trinidad and Tobago to attend the Fifth Summit of the Americas alongside President Barack Obama.
The Haiti visit would come two days after Clinton leads the U.S. delegation at a critical Haiti donors conference in Washington, and three days before Haitians head to the polls Sunday to choose among 105 candidates for 12 Senate seats.
Those familiar with the bilateral talks told The Miami Herald that the U.S. government is expected to announce on Tuesday at least $50 million in additional aid for Haiti, including money for direct budget support. Haiti is seeking at least $2 billion toward a three-year poverty reduction plan, as well as money to close its budget gap.
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''The hurricanes and the tropical storms that hammered Haiti last year not only washed away large sections of Haiti but also kind of washed away the pathway that the international community and Haiti were building in terms of social and economic development,'' Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon told The Herald, declining to offer details about his boss' travel plans or announcements about assistance to Haiti before the conference.
In February, Préval became the first head of state to meet with Clinton following her confirmation as secretary of state. Then last month, former President Bill Clinton traveled to Haiti along with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. All three are expected to attend Tuesday's meeting, where Bill Clinton will address donors in hopes of encouraging them to give more to Haiti.
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