Canada will host a conference of foreign ministers from donor countries later this month to discuss reconstruction efforts in Haiti after the earthquake there, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon announced Sunday.

The meeting, which will reassess pressing needs and develop a long-term plan for rebuilding Haiti, will be held on January 25 in the city of Montreal.

"The Montreal meeting will provide an opportunity to reassess the situation in Haiti and ensure that the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti can focus international efforts to help the Haitian people meet the current challenges and prepare for long-term stabilization and reconstruction," Cannon said in a press release.

Major participants will include UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy, Secretary General of the Organization of American States Jose Miguel Insulza, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Bernard Kouchner and foreign ministers of Chile, Peru and other American countries.

The meeting will be followed by another major conference on Haitian reconstruction later in the spring, according to the release.

(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2010)