VZCZCXRO0660
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1428/01 3421723
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081721Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0039
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 0024
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO
RUEHTO/AMEMBASSY MAPUTO 0001

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BRASILIA 001428 
 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR WHA AND C 
USAID FOR LAC 
USAID FOR HAITI 
MLO FOR HAITI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID EINV ETRD ENRG SOCI KSCA HA ECON
SUBJECT: USAID/Brazil and Brazil's Agency for Cooperation Visit Haiti 
to Advance Trilateral Cooperation 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: From November 22-26, USAID/Brazil, together with the 
Brazilian Agency for International Cooperation (ABC) visited 
Port-au-Prince to identify opportunities for trilateral cooperation 
in Haiti.  Activities including project site visits and stakeholder 
meetings with Government of Haiti officials, the USAID/Haiti 
Mission, officials from The United Nations Stabilization Mission in 
Haiti (MINUSTAH), and representatives of the US Military resulted 
in the identification of a number of potential areas for 
cooperation. Although the areas identified for cooperation are 
still in the initial stages of exploration, prior experience 
cooperating in Mozambique, together with Minister Farani's 
willingness and ability to commit funds, suggest that Brazil is 
serious about working together.   END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
¶2. The joint USAID/ABC trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti occurred on 
November 22-26, 2009 with the objective to explore opportunities 
for trilateral cooperation.  Serving as facilitator, USAID/Brazil 
assisted in coordinating meetings with USAID/Haiti, coordinating 
joint visits to USAID/Haiti project sites, and participating in a 
number of meetings and visits alongside the Brazilian Delegation. 
The Brazilian ABC delegation included Minister Marco Farani, 
Director of ABC; Andre Holla Capella, Projects Analyst; Renata 
Coccaro, Projects Analyst; and Patricia Canuto, Projects Analyst 
and Haiti Desk Officer. Maristela Baioni, Programme Coordinator for 
UNDP/Brazil and General Jos???? Rosalvo Leit????o de Almeida, Special 
Assessor of the Ministry of Defense also accompanied the 
delegation.  USAID/Brazil participants were Jeffery Bell, Mission 
Director, and Chris Foley, DLI Program Officer. 
 
 
 
MEETINGS 
 
 
 
¶3. Three meetings, one at the Office of the Prime Minister, one 
with the leadership of The United Nations Stabilization Mission in 
Haiti (MINUSTAH), and one with USAID/Haiti and the U.S. Military 
Liaison Office in Port-au-Prince served to provide background on 
activities and projects currently being implemented in Haiti and as 
fora to discuss areas of potential collaboration. On a separate but 
related visit that had some overlap with the USAID/ABC visit, a 
representative from U.S. Southern Command held meetings with the 
Brazilian engineering battalion in Haiti to discuss joint 
infrastructure projects. 
 
 
 
¶4. Prime Minister's Office: The Delegation met with Dr. Jean Palme 
Mathurin, representative for Haitian Prime Minister Bellerive. 
During the meeting, Minister Farani briefly outlined a number of 
their 31 approved projects in Haiti. Besides asking about progress 
on the 4C Dam project, a 130 MW hydro-electric dam that Brazil has 
proposed to construct in the department of Artibonite, Dr. 
Malthurin was specifically interested in projects that provided 
vocational training. In addition to the above mentioned names from 
the ABC delegation, Rafael Beleboni from Brazil's Ministry of 
Foreign Relations (MRE) in Haiti participated. 
 
 
 
¶5. United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH):  Luiz 
Carlos da Costa, Principal Deputy Special Representative for 
MINUSTAH presented an overview of the political situation in Haiti, 
and together with Kim Bolduc, Deputy Special Representative for 
MINUSTAH, talked briefly about their priorities for cooperation 
with Brazil in Haiti, principally about the immediate need to 
provide gas or ethanol cooking stoves and subsidized cooking fuel. 
Major General Floriano Peixoto Vieira Neto, Force Commander of 
MINUSTAH, discussed the capacity and availability of MINUSTAH 
engineers and heavy equipment for infrastructure projects but noted 
the lack of funding to purchase inputs, such as sand, gravel, and 
asphalt, for projects.  He spoke specifically about needed inputs 
valued at U.S. $1 million for a project approved by the Government 
of Haiti to improve eight roads in Port-au-Prince that would have 
an immediate and positive impact on the lives of city residents. 
Minister Farani tentativly agreed to finance the project.  Besides 
the Brazilian and USAID/Brazil delegation, additional participants 
 
BRASILIA 00001428  002 OF 004 
 
 
included Brazil's Ambassador to Haiti, Mr. Igor Kipman, Colonel 
D????lcio Monteiro Sapper, Head of the Brazilian Engineering Company 
in Haiti, and Rafael Beleboni, MRE. 
 
 
 
¶6. USAID/Haiti:  USAID/Haiti Acting Mission Director Anthony Chan, 
Acting Deputy Director Alex Deprez, Program Officer Mervyn Farroe, 
and Health Officer Jorge Velasco hosted a meeting at the U.S. 
Embassy in Port-au-Prince at which they presented the USAID/Haiti 
portfolio to the visiting delegation. Military representatives 
present discussed the infrastructure work of the Brazilian Army in 
Haiti.  Military participants included Major General Floriano 
Peixoto Vieira Neto, Force Commander of MINUSTAH; Colonel D????lcio 
Monteiro Sapper, Head of the Brazilian Engineering Company in 
Haiti; CDR David Strong from  the US Military Liaison Office in 
Port-au-Prince; Col. Norberto Cintron, Command Engineer, U.S. 
Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM); and Marcelo Salas, U.S Army Corps of 
Engineers Liaison to USSOUTHCOM. 
 
 
 
¶7. U.S. Southern Command: Concurrent with the joint USAID/ABC 
visit, Colonel Norberto Cintron, Command Engineer, U.S. Southern 
Command visited US Embassy Port-au-Prince.  Col. Cintron was 
looking at the feasibility of setting up cooperative efforts with 
the Brazilian engineering battalion and had some productive and 
positive meetings with his Brazilian counterparts.  The Brazilian 
engineering battalion has strong logistical and construction 
abilities but limited funding for materials to undertake projects. 
One such project discussed was the possible repair and maintenance 
of several kilometers of the "Boulevard des Americains," which 
links the key transportation hub near Port-au-Prince's area with 
the country's main north-south highway. 
 
 
 
PROJECT SITE VISITS 
 
 
 
¶8. Artibonite/Fondo Negro Visit: Jeffery Bell and Mario Nicoleau, 
USAID/Haiti Engineer, accompanied Minister Marco Farani and General 
Rosalvo on a helicopter over flight of the proposed site for the 4C 
Dam that Brazil is planning on building in Artibonite. Brazil has 
presented Haitian President Pr????val with four options for the dam, 
each of which present differing scenarios with regards to the 
number of people that would be displaced.  Brazil is seeking 
assistance with the relocation of individuals that would be 
displaced once dam construction begins.   The group also landed in 
Fondo Negro to visit ABC's model farm project that is introducing 
new varieties of beans, rice, manioc, and maize. 
 
 
 
¶9. Haitian Apparel Training Center Visit: Accompanied by Marlyne 
Lamothe, Trade and Investment Advisor for USAID/Haiti and CHF's Ann 
Young Lee, Minister Farani, Andr???? Capella, Jeffery Bell, and Chris 
Foley visited the current training site of the USAID/Haiti Haitian 
Apparel Center project.  USAID, in partnership with the Government 
of Haiti, the Association of Haitian Industries, CHF and US 
industry organization TC2, is creating the Haiti Apparel Center to 
build the skills and "Full Package" capabilities needed to drive 
Haiti's growth and long-term success in the garment sector. 
 
 
 
¶10. Grace Children's Hospital: Accompanied by USAID/Haiti's Senior 
Medical Advisor, Dr. Olberg Yvan D????sinor, Andr???? Capella, 
Jeffery 
Bell and Chris Foley visited Grace Children's Hospital in 
Port-au-Prince, a pediatric hospital supported by USAID/Haiti that 
focuses on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculoses, immunizations and nutrition. 
 
 
 
AREAS FOR POTENTIAL COLLABORATION 
 
BRASILIA 00001428  003 OF 004 
 
 
¶11. Haitian Garment Industry: USAID/Haiti through its CHF/KATA 
project currently supports activities that take advantage of the 
HOPE II legislation that provides duty-free entry in to the United 
State for garments manufactured in Haiti.  Minister Farani 
expressed interest in providing additional technical assistance to 
help increase the number of garment sector workers that the project 
can train.  He pledged to send a team from the Brazilian vocational 
training organization, SENAI, as well as from the Brazilian Textile 
and Apparel Industry Association, ABIT, to follow up and develop 
next steps with USAID/Haiti. 
 
 
 
¶12. Recycling:  The Decheteries De Carrefour Feuilles facility in 
the Carrefour neighborhood of Port-au-Prince provides jobs to 
recycle sawdust, paper and cardboard to produce and market cooking 
briquettes, while helping to reduce the city's waste problem. 
USAID/Haiti is constructing a market in the same location and the 
excess and discarded construction material will be used as raw 
material for the cooking briquettes. ABC is interested in exploring 
possibilities of expanding the Carrefour Feuilles project and 
USAID/Haiti is interested in serving as a complimentary player in 
advancing Haiti's alternative energy development opportunities. 
Discussions will continue to determine how to move forward with 
similar synergistic activities in the future. 
 
 
 
¶13. Cultural Centers:  Coordination will be worked out to try and 
bring Brazilian artist and musician, Carlinhos Brown and Haitian 
musician Wyclef Jean together to collaborate with Brazil and the 
United States on some sort of cultural/community center that would 
serve as a driver for community development.  Both musicians are 
active philanthropically, Brown through his Pracatum project in 
Bahia, and Jean through his Yele foundation. 
 
 
 
¶14. Infrastructure: With regards to the infrastructure project 
mentioned in paragraphs 5 and 7, USSOUTHCOM expressed interest in 
providing additional funds to the US $1 million that would be 
required to improve the eight roads in Port-au-prince so that 
MINUSTAH or Brazilian Army Engineers could work on improving more 
than 8 roads in the city. Separately, SOUTHCOM is also interested 
in providing funds for MINUSTAH or Brazilian army engineers to work 
on road projects outside the city of Port-au-Prince.  In initial 
discussions, having ABC or Brazilian engineering assistance to 
reconstruct the approach roads to the USAID funded Ennery bridge 
project between Gonaives and Cap Haitien were discussed, as were 
the creation/improvement of a number of rural farm-to-market roads. 
 
 
 
 
¶15. Assessments: USSOUTHCOM also expressed and interest and 
willingness to conduct any environmental assessments that may be 
necessary for the 4C Dam project in Artibonite.  USSOUTHCOM also 
expressed interest in working with the Brazilians to do joint 
assessments of existing power plants in the country in an effort to 
identify ways to increase capacity. 
 
 
 
¶16. COMMENT: The joint USAID/Brazil-ABC trip to Haiti continues the 
close working relationship that has developed between the two 
organizations and is a first step towards jointly undertaking 
projects with a significant development impact in Haiti. Although 
the areas identified for cooperation are still in the initial 
stages of exploration, prior experience cooperating in Mozambique, 
together with Minister Farani's willingness and ability to commit 
funds, suggest that Brazil is serious about working together. On 
the USAID/Haiti side, the dedicated and cooperative manner that the 
Mission demonstrated throughout the trip in combination with their 
stated willingness to follow-up proactively with designated 
Brazilian partners on the ground in Haiti bodes well for future 
collaboration. Minister Farani seems eager to initiate joint 
projects, and with the level of interest and cooperation 
demonstrated by USAID/Haiti, these initial projects should serve as 
pilots, paving the way for larger joint projects in the future. END 
COMMENT 
 
BRASILIA 00001428  004 OF 004 
 
 
KUBISKE 
KUBISKE