The earthquake that ravaged Haiti on January 12, 2010 has caused one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the last decades. Tens of thousands of people have lost their lives and hundreds of thousands their houses and their means of survival. The international community has been impacted by this tragedy and has readily and promptly responded to mitigate the effects of the devastating earthquake which has so harshly scourged the people of Haiti.

Hence, on January 18, 2010, in Santo Domingo, with the acquiescence and assistance of the President of the Republic of Haiti, Mr. René Preval, and at the initiative of the President of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Leonel Fernández Reyna, a meeting was held with the participation of representatives from the member countries of the CARICOM; OAS, Canada, Spain, United States, Brazil, the United Nations Stabilization Mission (MINUSTAH) in Haiti, the European Union and the World Bank, to examine the best manner to address this dramatic situation.

The huge assistance pouring into Haiti from different countries, social organizations and international institutions evidences the will and the commitment towards wishing to transform pain into hope, collaborating both on immediate assistance to victims as well as in the reconstruction of the country.

The special vulnerability that Haiti has been suffering has exponentially multiplied the effects of this catastrophe. Thus, in the light of how indispensible immediate emergency assistance is to respond to the most pressing humanitarian needs, an adequate response to the country's situation demands that the international community, especially such countries which have greater repercussion in the development of Haiti, foster the search for medium and long-term initiatives to guarantee expediency and open new possibilities for the future for the Haitian State.

Due to the country's current structural weakness, coordinating efforts becomes an essential tool for the international community to achieve this objective in the shortest possible timeframe. An objective which, to come to fruition, must incorporate, in any event, the government and the people of Haiti in the initiatives and projects that may be devised.

The Government and the people of Haiti are, and should continue to be, the major protagonists of the reconstruction of their country and their collective destiny. But it is the responsibility of the international community to offer all its support to turn uncertainty into confidence and skepticism into hope for their shared future.

In view of the foregoing, the countries and organizations present at this meeting agree to promote an International Conference whose objective will be to develop a Strategic Plan for the Reconstruction of Haiti which, beyond the emergency assistance, contributes to strengthen the medium and long-term social, economic and political stability of Haiti.

The Conference is being called by the European Union and shall be held in the Dominican Republic.

A coordination committee established to this effect and integrated by Haiti, Dominican Republic, CARICOM; United Nations, European Union, Organization of American States, Rio Group, United State, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank, shall be tasked with the organization of said activity and hold its first meeting next January 25 in Canada.

A work group designated by this committee will prepare a proposal for a Strategic Plan which shall be the subject of debate during the first plenary session that will focus on three items:

The Millennium Objectives, the 2008-2010 National Strategy Document on growth and poverty reduction and the World Bank document best known as Haiti: Options and Opportunities for Growth.

Likewise, agreement has been reached to propose that G-20 study, at its next meeting, the creation of a reconstruction fund for Haiti taking into account experiences such as the Iraq funding scheme.

The globalized world in which we live in also demands global answers from us. The countries and organizations attending this meeting believe the future of Haiti is deserving of the added endeavors of the international community.

The crisis of Haiti has reaffirmed again that our globalized world, not only Governments, but citizens as well, feel that nothing of what happens to others is alien to us; that we can and must build a world which is fairer and more human.

For thousands of Haitians this tragedy has signified an end; it is our responsibility to see to it that for the millions of citizens in this and other continents this becomes a new beginning.