Spotlight on Haiti

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week turns the spotlight on the poorest country in the Americas: Haiti.

She will attend a Donors' Conference on Haiti tomorrow in Washington to discuss how the world can come to Haiti's aid. That high-level gathering that will include United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and a variety of international organizations.

Clinton plans to visit Haiti Thursday, the State Department announced today. "While in Haiti Secretary Clinton will meet with President René Préval to discuss issues of common concern including stability, security and assistance," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Monday.

After visiting Haiti, and a stopover in next-door Dominican Republic, Clinton will join President Obama to attend the Summit of the Americas at the end of the week in Trinidad and Tobago.

Clinton-watchers are wondering if the Tuesday meeting in Washington will produce something that has become a recent rarity: a photo of both Clintons together. Secretary Clinton is expected at the gathering in the morning, and former President Clinton is giving the keynote speech after lunch at the conference.


Before and during her Senate confirmation hearings, Secretary Clinton carefully separated herself from her husband's various international projects and fundraising, including his work with the Clinton Global Initiative that does sponsor projects in Haiti. The former president visited Haiti last month.

The Miami Herald reports that Secretary Clinton is set to pledge $50 million in U.S. aid to Haiti at the Washington conference.

Haiti has been staggering economically after a series of crises last year, including the global spike in oil and food prices and four hurricanes.

President Preval was an early caller on Secretary Clinton after she took up her State Department post. At that meeting February 5, she called him "a longtime friend" and said she and President Obama were committed to helping Haiti "build a vibrant democracy and a growing economy."