 I'm Steve Johnson the director of the America's program here at CSIS and I'd like to invite you all to take your seats and if you could to move up to the front where our speakers can see you I think you'll get a better seat and a more comfortable view of our presentations this morning. We have plenty of time to grab a cup of coffee afterwards. We'll have a short break after our first speaker the Honorable Cheryl Mills from the Counselor's Office of the Secretary of State and then we'll have short breaks throughout the morning and then a luncheon. It's my distinct pleasure to welcome you who despite tornado warnings downpours and floods and metro problems are here to discuss with us today options for building a new Haiti. Part of my job here this morning is to encourage you to turn off your cell phones or at least put the ringers on stun or thrill mode if you would so that we don't have any disruptions during our presentations. I want to thank our organizers Joanna Mendelssohn of our America's program Miriam Cornblith of the National Endowment for Democracy our co-sponsor today. Dan Rundy the director of our CSIS project on prosperity and development for assembling a superb panel of experts today and these are not the usual voices but individuals with current on the ground experience in governance land titling environmental issues and investor relations who can discuss realistic options in ways that Haiti can move itself forward. They come directly on the heels of a private meeting that we had with President-elect Martelly last week and who said his priorities were going to be education jobs decentralization of the population and foreign investment. Now throughout the morning and early afternoon we will have coffee breaks as I said and a luncheon at noon which we invite you to stay for so I guarantee all of our panels will be interesting and in some ways we are saving the best for last so stick around. Right now I want to note the continuing interest of the Obama administration in this issue and the commitment of secretary of state Hillary Clinton who center counselor Cheryl Mills to open our conference this morning. To introduce her we've asked CSIS senior advisor Mac McClarty to do the honors. Mac McClarty has had a distinguished record of business leadership and public service having advised three presidents Jimmy Carter George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton whom he served as White House chief of staff and special envoy for the Americas for his leadership and promoting closer inter-American partnership he was honored with the highest civilian awards of seven Latin American countries as well as our secretary of states distinguished service medal. As you can imagine he has a long and abiding interest in Haiti. Please welcome the honorable Mac McClarty. Good morning. Steve first of all thank you for a unexpected but certainly appreciated warm introduction but more importantly thank you for in your colleagues for your very dedicated and capable work here. Good morning to everyone thank you for joining us at what we believe is a particularly timely and important meeting and I know a number of you have come from a long way to be here today so we particularly appreciate your attendance. I do as Steve noted have the privilege of being a senior advisor here at CSIS. Dr. Hamery is traveling today and he had asked me to step in and welcome all of you to this conference and to introduce our opening speaker Cheryl Mills which I am pleased and proud to do. I'm always pleased to have an opportunity to work with CSIS which I think is such a meaningful organization and addresses the issues of the day in a serious and purposeful manner and John Hamery frankly is truly one of the most decent capable thoughtful individuals and leaders that I've had the privilege to work with over a good number of years now. So Cheryl Mills and I share more than just our admiration for this organization we are former colleagues in the Clinton administration where Cheryl was truly one of the smartest and most valued members of the senior White House staff. Even though as youthful as Councilor Mills looks today she was even younger then. We both have carried the portfolios of Councilor and Chief of Staff media President Clinton and Steve graciously noted and Cheryl actually has a double portfolio as Councilor and Chief of Staff to Secretary Clinton today. I have said before and I suspect Cheryl will agree that the role of Chief of Staff can aptly be described as the Chief Javelin catcher in any administration. As Jim Baker once put it the title of Chief sounds pretty regal but then at the same time your staff and that means you're there to partner with and support your principal who in Cheryl's case is a tireless leader Secretary Clinton who has logged over half a million miles of travel in the past two years and has been so skilled and capable in her efforts. But in addition and I think quite importantly to the role of Chief of Staff. Cheryl's role as Councilor suggest a strategic focus that encompasses every issue in a world that as all of you know is more interconnected more complex more challenging than ever stating the obvious these are turbulent times and yet Councilor Mills has managed the burdens of her job with grace and effectiveness earning a reputation as a thoughtful and decisive leader but with an eye on the important strategic issues and put simply with Secretary Clinton and Cheryl Mills I feel our countries in safe hands. Anyone who knows Cheryl knows she runs a tight ship serving the Secretary President Obama in our country and that includes her leadership of the important issues that we're here to discuss today. The prospects of Haiti's recovery and renewal as I was visiting with Steve Lucas earlier 15 months since the devastating earthquake. As Secretary Clinton said during her meeting with Haitian President-elect Martelli last week the people of Haiti may have a long road ahead but as they walk it the United States will be with them all the way and from our nation's outpouring of emergency relief including through the Clinton Bush Haiti fund to our efforts with Haitian and international partners including the IDV and others to stem the cholera outbreak to new investments trade policies jobs program to help get back to work. The United States has been a committed partner to helping Haiti build back better. As all of you know this is a pivotal moment. The elections are another step in Haiti's democracy so we are grateful for all that's been accomplished. But we know there is much more to be done. Millions of cubic meters of rubble to be cleared. Hundreds of thousands still homeless and an understandably anxious population in need of stability and growth and yes promise and hope. And a hurricane season looming yet again. So I know everyone here cares deeply about Haiti's future. Our hearts. And our hopes are with the Haitian people. Our neighbors and our friends. So I think we're very fortunate that we have Cheryl to join us this morning. Who is singularly informed and influential in her views of moving Haiti forward in the months ahead. Please join me in welcoming Councilor and Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State Cheryl Mills. Thank you very very much. It is just terrific to be here and terrific to see so many people who are committed to Haiti here as well. I also want to particularly think Mac for that very kind introduction as probably many of you all can tell I am very blessed to have had the benefit of his guidance and support for more than for actually more than 20 years now. So so yes I have gotten a lot older. Mac has not. I also want to say thank you to John Henry and also to the CSIS team because I am particularly grateful that long after the spotlight has moved from Haiti you all are continuing to shine the light on Haiti and the efforts that are still going on there to create the future that is deserving of and certainly reflective of the Haitian people. And before I start I also want to particularly acknowledge because I see in the room a number of my colleagues from USAID but also colleagues from state and Treasury and Commerce and Agriculture all of whom are very committed to working with folks in this room and outside of this room to help make our engagement with Haiti effective and to help the country rebuild. Sometimes it's actually hard to believe that the earthquake was 15 months ago and it's even harder to recall that before the earthquake there had been a hard one level of prosperity and stability in Haiti. I often think back to the donors conference at the Inter-American Development Bank had and at that conference Secretary Clinton said Haiti has a real opportunity to make substantial progress. It has a plan to do so and it has demonstrated the determination to carry it forward. That was before the earthquake before the cholera before the elections and yet her words still remain very relevant today. There is real opportunity in Haiti and we often lose sight of it amidst the unrelenting tide of adversity that is always a part of Haiti's daily life. But the opportunity is there and every day if you are there you see the Haitian people rising above those waves and seeking to grab hold of it. The new beginning that is being occasioned by the incoming Martelli administration that is supported by the spirit of the Haitian people and the continued collaboration of the international community gives everyone hope. It gives hope in Haiti, in the diaspora community and in the international community because the people of Haiti won in President Martelli's election affirmation of the fact that a peaceful or a largely peaceful if you will political movement can achieve their outcomes. But I also think it's important to remember that this new beginning doesn't actually come in spite of what came before. It actually comes because of what came before. When President René Provault leaves office next month he leaves a legacy that includes a consensus that was brokered with parliament that has initiated long sought constitutional reforms. He will leave an example, a strong run of leading the fight against narco trafficking and increasing the awareness of the impact of transnational narcotics on Haiti. And while it is often overlooked since the earthquake, he also leaves a record of shepherding over the highest economic growth rate in Haiti in over a decade. The fragile piece that was maintained, particularly after the earthquake and in the wake of so much adversity is in itself remarkable. And as any reconstruction expert can tell you it is the transition from recovery to reconstruction that is the hardest to navigate. But here Haiti is and here we all are finally and officially in the throes of reconstruction. As President Martelli enters office he does so with incredibly high expectations. We should be familiar with that. That is certainly the case in our country. He does have a chance to seize the day from new housing construction to industrial development to constitutional reform. His administration can capitalize on opportunities that are quite ripe for action within really the first 100 days. Secretary Clinton, USAID Administrator Shaw, our Haiti special coordinator Tom Adams and I, along with others from this administration, had the chance to discuss these opportunities with President elect Martelli and his team when they visited Washington last week. During our meeting, President elect Martelli emphasized the importance of food security and agriculture, economic investment in growth and education. He also made clear that he recognized that preparing the ground for sustainable economic growth will actually require revising regulations and quite literally changing the way that Haiti does business. Along with some of Haiti's partners, we shared a set of opportunities and partnerships that if acted on would send a clear signal that Haiti is open for business and on the road for renewal. And I wanted to talk about some of them today given the theme of this conference. We talked about opportunities in housing and land for many of you who are engaged in Haiti, you know the challenge in both of these spaces. But by transferring state owned land for housing development, setting up a recognized land dispute tribunal, and quite simply by designating three more rubble removal sites. President Martelli can open up rubble filled plots to new construction and finally to the opportunity for placing more than 600,000 camp dwelling folks in new homes. We discussed the opportunity to start down the road of turning on the lights of Haiti. With the support of Haiti's international partners, President elect Martelli has a chance to unleash more than $400 million of investment in Haiti's energy sector to increase lecture electrification for rural and for urban households to actually lower energy cost to dramatically improve the reliability for commercial customers and significantly to reduce the more than $100 million that they transfer each year to their electrical utility to subsidize it. In supporting what started back in November of last year, Haiti's Council of Modernization of Public Enterprises and the modernization process that they are stepping through, and in supporting a transition management contract to help strengthen EDH, their electrical utility. His administration can begin to fix what is broken and prove what works well and actually start turning on the lights of Haiti for everyone. Finally, by having the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank and the Ministry of Public Works actually publish what their financial flows are and payments that go to and from EDH as well as the independent power producers, the Haitian people can actually see what their money is spent on when they are seeking electricity. We talked about business reform and encourage President Elect Martelli to take meaningful steps early on to speed the rebuilding efforts and demonstrate that Haiti is open for business. The Inter-American Development Bank has set out a very clear roadmap for how to do that. By working with the Parliament to enact basic reforms, the Martelli Administration can reduce the time it takes to get a construction permit for more than a thousand days, a thousand days to 60 days, and to register a business from 180 days to 10 days, and these steps will dramatically speed up housing starts and help Haiti attract very needed domestic and foreign investment. We talked about opportunities in the rule of law and the justice sector. In particular, President Elect Martelli can elect a five-year impasse on judicial reform simply by appointing a President of the Supreme Court, not to mention appointing four other members to the vacancies that are there. He also can endorse to Parliament for their vote, a virtually complete Haitian criminal code and the criminal procedure code. Their current code is over hundreds of years out of date. Last but not least, we talked about jobs. With more than 70% unemployment in Haiti both before and after the earthquake, the people of Haiti, like people all over the world, need jobs. On this front, the North Industrial Park presents one of the more promising and exciting economic development opportunities that has happened in Haiti in many, many years. It's the result of really an unprecedented collaborative effort that was with the government of Haiti, SEA, which is a South Korean garment manufacturer, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the United States government. This park is being built just east of Capacean, so it is creating another poll of opportunity for growth and development outside of Port-au-Prince consistent with Haiti's action plan. It has the opportunity to bring at least 20,000 new jobs, more than $500 million in wages and benefits over the next 10 years, all for the people of Haiti. In supporting and facilitating this development, the Martelli administration can see this project actually break ground in July. But I always focus on the fact that it's really not all about what Haiti can do and how Haiti can change and what President Martelli can see in terms of opportunities. The international community and particularly the United States has opportunities. So I want to just talk a minute more about what the United States can and must do and how we are working to change. In 2009, when Secretary Clinton made Haiti a foreign policy priority, she challenged us to look at our own frailties and at our own opportunities to examine how we could engage better and be a better partner and support for the people of Haiti and the government. Since that time, USAID, the State Department and partners all across the federal government have sought to approach our work in Haiti in a new way. We're going from counting outputs to actually counting outcomes. We're not measuring how many people are in school. We're actually asking how many people are actually learning in school. At its core, our measurements are really about are we actually improving the lives of the Haitian people? Our former's income actually increasing from our agriculture programs. Do people have quality health care and are they nourished and disease free because of our investments? Do people have more access to electricity? Is their life better? We are also working to improve on two other important fronts, capacity building and contract reform. To build Haiti's capacity, we are working to extend the impact of our dollars by spending our investments in ways that also are training opportunities. We are asking ourselves what kind of technical assistance offers the best chance for the Haitian people to undertake this activity without our help in the future. Whether it's building houses or installing irrigation systems, whether it's trying to ensure that the opportunities that are available through the contractors we are engaging can actually instead be taken over by the Haitian people, we are trying to make capacity building a cornerstone of our efforts. The Center for Disease Control, which has been active in Haiti for quite some time, both before the earthquake and after, has been a leader in demonstrating the impact of this approach. By working within the Ministry of Health, before the earthquake and after, and at their national laboratory and not through a contractor, CDC through our PEPFAR programs has trained health professionals and equipped medical facilities such that the Haitian officials were the ones who were able to first diagnose the cholera and they were the ones to be able to outline a response plan. When contracting is our best or our only option, USAID is also pushing forward a very challenging reform agenda and our objectives are two-fold. One, to decrease the time it takes to finalize the contract, which if many of you all have ever engaged with us in that space, you know how challenging that is. And to diversify the partners with whom USAID works, to open the field to new partners, partners who also are smaller and local. That reform is not easy because pursuing that objective often comes at the opposite effect of other goals. Sometimes it's at the effect of speed and in the wake of the earthquake and certainly cholera, speed is something that is intrinsically important. But today we are trying to make sure that speed and diversity are actually partners in how we do a better job in Haiti. In that regard USAID has actually trimmed the amount of time it takes to do competitive contracts by 20 days and they are partnering with more than 500 local firms and they have put nearly 90,000 Haitians to work in the process. But change doesn't occur overnight and certainly those who have been engaged in Haiti for a long time know that. Right now the outcomes we seek and the answers to the questions we're asking will take time to materialize and time is rarely our friend. Too often the next emergency arrives. The next emergency might be the hurricane season and in those emergencies we sometimes lose sight of the greater change that we're seeking to actually have occur. But we are committed to Haiti both as a partner in the long run but also more importantly to its own economic prosperity and political stability so they one day can be the partner to others that others are being to them. And like those in Haiti that means we in the United States government have to keep confronting our own challenges and our own opportunities head-on. We need to be able to embrace those successes but we also need to be able to embrace our failures and learn from them. There is no question that there's been progress in Haiti yet I believe we would all agree that it's taken longer than we would like and certainly longer than in many instances we expected. I do think there is one particular thing that has gone better in Haiti than people might have anticipated and that is the international community actually making good on its commitment to work together and coordinate in a deeper way. The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission has served as a critical vehicle for coordination. Since its creation it has held six board meetings and it's approved eighty seven projects for more than three billion dollars. But significantly its work has been done with the Haitian government at the head of the table leading and contributing to often difficult and robust debates about priorities for reconstruction and the best path to get there. In the process I just want to give a few examples of its impact certainly for the United States government. It has brokered unprecedented collaborations between donors the private sector and the Haitian government. The transition management contract that is underway for Haiti's electrical utility is being supported by a collaboration between the United States government the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. We have been able through the work of the IHRC to collaborate more effectively with the Haitian government to achieve those goals. The IHRC has also been instrumental in the commitment among the government of France and the United States to actually rebuild the general hospital. And that platform allowed us the opportunity to actually be an effective partner in building something bigger instead of only repairing a piece of it. The IHRC was also instrumental in facilitating the public-private partnership for the North Industrial Park bringing together the government of Haiti, the IDB, the United States and SEA textiles. Those are just some of their successes that are only with the United States. There are others that are with many other donors and that kind of collaboration has proved invaluable. Going forward the government and the people of Haiti must lead the way because there is no end to international assistance without country ownership and without homegrown, broad-braced economic growth. As an international partner to Haiti, the United States is striving to be aggressively and relentlessly mindful of this reality. And that's hard. We are seeking a partnership in which Haiti sees and actually Haiti seizes its opportunities for self-determination for growth and for its own renewal. When I first started working on Haiti, a wise person actually said to me right before I began traveling that you cannot chase needs in Haiti because Haiti's needs are too great. You have to chase opportunities. So I hope that I see all of you all in the race for chasing all of Haiti's opportunity so they get the future they deserve. Thank you.