Haiti Declaration Issued By The First Summit Of Heads Of State And Government Of Mexico And Members Of The Caribbean Community (caricom), 21 February 2010, Riviera Maya, Quintana Roo, Mexico

I. We, the Heads of State and Government of Mexico and the Member States of the Caribbean (CARICOM), gathered together on in the Mexican Riviera Maya, confirm our solidarity with the government and people of Haiti in the wake of the catastrophic loss of lives and material damage caused by the earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010.
II. We acknowledge the urgent need to contribute to the international cooperation efforts to reconstruct Haiti and ensure its long-term development.

III. In this spirit, the governments of Mexico and the member states of CARICOM will reinforce our plans and programs for joint cooperation with Haiti in conjunction with the private sector and civil society organizations.

IV. To this end, we have determined to carry out the following actions:

1. Mexico and Caricom will jointly review and harmonize our cooperation plans and programs to take advantage of our joint capacities to provide aid and assistance for the reconstruction of Haiti in the medium and long term according to the needs, interests and priorities of the Haitian government and in conjunction with existing aid efforts at the regional and international levels.

2. Mexico and Caricom will assign the highest joint priority to strengthening our efforts at aid and reconstruction, particularly as regards health, in the emergency and post-emergency stage, on the understanding that this sector is a priority for Haiti's economic and social development.

3. Mexico will contribute with the recently-created CARICOM-Haiti Support Unit and tbe Caribbean Disaster Emergency Agency (CDEMA) in the design of a regional strategy for dealing with crisis situations due to natural disasters.

4. Mexico and the CARICOM member states, to the extent of their respective capacities and with a sense of urgency, will provide support in the form of tents and shelters for the Haitian population affected by the earthquake.