The United States and its Caribbean neighbors worked to smooth differences over Haiti and issued a joint call Wednesday for more international help for the unstable, impoverished country. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterparts from the Caribbean Community (Caricom) issued the appeal after a Nassau, Bahamas meeting marked by Caricom's move to reinstate Haiti to the group. Foreign Minister Fred Mitchell of the Bahamas said Rice welcomed Caricom's decision to re-engage Haiti and to provide assistance for its institutional development. "Both parties agreed on the importance of the international community remaining engaged in Haiti over the long term in order to promote stability and socioeconomic progress," he said. No concrete measures were announced, but Rice told reporters that "the next step would be to provide support for the development of democratic institutions in Haiti following the presidential election in February won by Rene Preval." "We all have a tremendous stake in the development of a democratic Haiti that can be self-supporting, ultimately," Rice said.
