Colombian President Alvaro Uribe announced that he intends to request credit from multilateral companies UNASUR and the Inter-American Development Bank, and use it to fund development programs in earthquake-torn Haiti, reports Colombian media.
Uribe announced the scheme at an extraordinary meeting called by UNASUR to discuss South American responses to the Haiti disaster. The meeting was held in Ecuador’s capital, Quito, and attended by representatives from Peru, Paraguay and Ecuador, as well as by Uribe.
“We are going to request loans from the multilateral organizations, which the Colombian government will then pay back, so that we can invest this money exclusively in Haiti – both in the projects run by the multilaterals and in Colombia’s specific projects,” announced Uribe.
El Espectador said that the sum invested in Haiti by the Colombian government could be up to $500 million.
Uribe assured the UNASUR meeting that his country would co-operate “totally” with the needs of the Haitian government and that Colombia would “expect no quid pro quos of any kind.”
The Colombian president highlighted the need for current developments projects to be completed in Haiti, not left half-finished once the immediate crisis is over.