U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, meeting with Haitian Prime Minister Michele Duvivier Pierre-Louis on Wednesday, promised that the Obama administration will be a "committed partner" of the Caribbean state. Clinton is scheduled to visit Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Thursday before joining President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago.

Clinton says Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has endured almost unimaginable difficulties during the last year, including four hurricanes that slashed the island nation's economic output by 15 percent.