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International conference for Haiti likely in March

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-15 20:35

PARIS: An international conference for reconstruction and development of quake-hit Haiti is probably to take place in March, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Friday.

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The conference would be "likely in March," Kouchner told RTL radio, but didn't specify the place of the meeting.

"To recover Haitian people's hope, it should be signified that we didn't abandon them and we are already thinking about reconstructing their homes with other countries," Kouchner said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed on Thursday to hold an international conference for Haiti's recovery after the catastrophic tremor hit the country on Tuesday.

There were 1,400 French nationals living in the impoverished former France's colony, of whom 1,200 reside in capital Port-au-Prince.

Kouchner said rescuers were still searching for some 60 French nationals missing in the quake.

The accurate casualties of the Tuesday catastrophic quake are unknown yet, while Haitian President Rene Preval said he had received reports of death tolls ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 from the magnitude-7.3 quake.