On 6 June 2011, the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington DC and the World Bank signed a letter of agreement by which the Thai Government had donated US$2,300,000 to the Haiti Reconstruction Fund at the World Bank headquarter in Washington DC. In this regard, Mr. Kittiphong Na Ranong, Ambassador of Thailand to the United States, Mr. Louis Harold Joseph, Ambassador of Haiti to the United States, Mr. Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Vice President for Concessional Finance and Global Partnerships, officials from State Department of the United States and media attended the ceremony.
Thailand had donated the said amount to HRF since 4 May 2011. The donation is part of the total sum of US$ 21.8 million contribution, which comprise of cash, medical supplies, basic facilities and 20,000 ton of rice, made over 1.5 years by the Thai Government and people.
Thai Ambassador to the United States stated that, even though it is still a developing country, Thailand had been giving humanitarian and development supports for over 20 years, at bilateral, trilateral and multilateral levels. On this occasion, Thailand was pleased to be part of the on-going effort by the international community for Haiti reconstruction and hoped that this donation and the amount of US$ 0.9 million donated directly to the Government of Haiti by the Thai Government would be beneficial to Haiti.
In this regard, Ambassador of Haiti to the United States expressed appreciation and thanked Thailand. He said that Thailand’s assistance was not only worth financially, but it also expressed the solidarity and partnership between the Thai and Haiti people.
Mr. Josef Leitmann, Manager of the HRF, said that this donation, which Thailand made with 18 other countries, would bring the fund to over US$ 350 million, representing 20 per cent of the money mobilized so far for rebuilding Haiti.
Representatives from World Bank, Mr. Axel van Trotsenburg, said that he was delighted that the Thai Government had joined this international effort to help Haiti. Mr.Axel van Trotsenburg, Acting Vice President, East Asia and Pacific Region, further added that Thailand was an active player in the development and humanitarian affairs of the Mekong sub-region, such as assistance from Thailand to Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis. Thailand’s aid to Haiti this time thus reaffirmed another milestone in global development.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th