At the meeting, the Council adopted the following declaration:

DECLARATION BY THE PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES IN SUPPORT OF HAITI

The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States reaffirms the commitment of the Organization to support the Haitian authorities in the ongoing electoral process.

The Permanent Council reiterates its full support for and commitment to the constitutional framework, democratic process, and peace and stability in Haiti.

The Permanent Council also reaffirms its recognition of the work carried out by the Joint OAS-CARICOM Electoral Observation Mission (JEOM) and for the assessment and recommendations of the Expert Verification Mission of the Vote Tabulation for the November 28, 2010, Presidential Election in the Republic of Haiti.

The Permanent Council is pleased that the Report of the Expert Verification Mission was received by the Government of Haiti on January 13, 2011, and subsequently submitted by the Government of Haiti to the Provisional Electoral Council on January 18, 2011, which, under Haitian law, decides on its application.

The Permanent Council welcomes the press release issued by the Provisional Electoral Council on January 18, 2011, indicating that the recommendations contained in the Report of the Expert Verification Mission will be considered for the second round.
Source: Organization of American States

Net News Publisher for American News

Related articles

• Organization of American States Secretary General Supports Argentine Rejection to British Military Exercises in Malvinas Islands (netnewspublisher.com)
• Organization of American States And El Salvador Sign Agreement on Firearms Marking (netnewspublisher.com)
• Organization of American States to Follow the Municipal Elections in Costa Rica (netnewspublisher.com)

The two sides also agreed to hold the second political dialogue between Chinese and African foreign ministers in 2010 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Created in October 2000, the Forum consists of meetings at three levels : the ministerial conference, the meeting of senior officials and negotiations between the monitoring committee of the Chinese Forum and African diplomatic mission in Beijing, according the forum’s web site.

The FOCAC, which is seeking to be a ’’platform for discussions and constructive dialogue’’ between China and 49 African countries with diplomatic ties with Beijing, held its first ministerial conference from October 10 to 12, 2000 in Beijing. More than 80 ministers from 44 African countries and China and representatives of 17 international and African regional organizations attended the meeting.

In July 2001, in Lusaka (Zambia), the Chinese and African leaders developed a procedure for the monitoring mechanism of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation which entered into force in April 2002. This tool also helped institutionalize the mechanism of the Forum.

The second ministerial conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation was held on 15 and 16 December 2003 in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

The Beijing Summit, coupled with the third Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, took place in Beijing from 3 to 5 November 2006.

The resort of Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) hosted, in 2009, the fourth Ministerial conference of FOCAC which was especially marked by the adoption of the “Sharm el-Sheikh Declaration” and “Sharm el-Sheikh Action Plan (2010 – 2012)’’ that define new actions to promote Sino-African cooperation.

Source African Press Agency

Net News Publisher

“Following the latest Forum of Sharm el-Sheik in Egypt, the Chinese government seems eager to prioritize the strengthening of cultural exchanges and the training of human resources with Africa to wipe out the misunderstandings noted between the African and Chinese peoples, a cultural adviser at the Chinese embassy in Dakar told APA.

The remoteness of China from Africa does not favor a real mix of both peoples, according to She Mingyuan who reaffirmed his country’s will to strengthen the cultural ties with the continent to better remove the divisive stereotypes attributed to Beijing.

Many Africans believe the presence of Chinese nationals in the continent means anything but marketing counterfeit.

Diplomatic sources reveal that since 2006, China has been assisting Africa in the framework of 900 programs, with half of them on the healthcare area for the local population. The country has also helped in training more than 30,000 people and sent 350,000 technicians and 17,000 health officials to Africa.

China seeks now to boost its cooperation with Africa which matches with the economic and social development of Africans, the Chinese diplomat says, recalling the pledges made by the Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, at the fourth FOCAC ministerial conference in Sharm el Sheikh, in Egypt.

Jiabao had announced a pledge of $10 billion of new low-interest loans to Africa during the next three years.

The Chinese Premier had also announced eight new measures to be taken from 2010 to 2012 to boost the China-African cooperation and the implementation of a $1 billion fund to the benefit of African Small and Medium Entreprises (SMEs).

The conference had further adopted the “Sharm el-Sheikh Declaration” and the “three-year action plan of Sharm el-Sheikh (2010-2012)” that both outline the new action aimed at boosting China-Africa cooperation.

The “Sharm el-Sheikh Declaration” focuses on the effort Beijing has to achieve to increase the volume of aid dedicated to Africa, as well as the reduction or cancellation of the debt owed to it by African countries.

Meanwhile, under the “three-year Sharm el-Sheikh action plan (2010-2012)”, Africa and China agreed to give free rein to the dialogue and communication mechanisms in a bid to further a new form of strategic partnership.

Consistent with the conference’s recommendations, this policy shall be built through strategic dialogue, consultations, strengthened political relations between the foreign Ministries and the joint commissions for economic and trade cooperation.

Source African Press Agency

Net News Publisher

The documents were adopted at the end of the two-day event held in Sharm El-Sheikh, 500km from Cairo.

The “Declaration of Sharm el-Sheikh” highlights China’s work to increase the volume of aid to Africa, the reduction of debt owed by African countries, maximizing the investment in the African continent, opening more markets and the promotion of scientific cooperation with Africa.

The 49 African countries and China agreed to support the work and coordination to strengthen the role and mechanisms of the Forum to meet the needs of both sides.

The China-Africa Cooperation members states also focus on making the most of consultation mechanisms at various levels to strengthen strategic dialogue between Africa and China, and deepen their scope of cooperation and coordination in multilateral forums to serve the interests of both sides, and the interests of developing countries as a whole.

The document emphasizes the need to maintain unity and mutual support to address the challenges arising from the economic crisis and global finance.

With regard to the second document, “Action Plan for Sharm El-Sheikh” (2010-2012), Africa and China agreed to give full play to the existing mechanisms of dialogue and communication to deepen a new form of strategic partnership, through the activation of strategic dialogues, consultations, political relations between the foreign ministries, joint commissions for economic cooperation and trade.

The two sides also agreed to hold the second political dialogue between Foreign ministers of the two sides in 2010 on the sidelines of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and hold consular consultations to deal with consular issues of citizens of the two sides.

They stressed their appreciation of the important contributions of the African Union and regional organizations in Africa to solve hot issues in the continent, promote the African integration process and regional economic integration, peace and development in Africa, and encourage the support to the African role in regional and international affairs.

China has welcomed the establishment of the African Union representative office in Beijing in a timely manner. It stressed its intention to promote partnership with African organizations in the field of institutional capacity building and implementation of projects which include more than one country in the region.

The African side welcomed China’s efforts to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast, pursuant to the spirit of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Source African Press Agency

Net News Publisher