The announcement came from the office of the Dominican President, Leonel Fernandez.

It said that Haiti's President, Rene Preval, and representatives of international financial institutions and governments would attend the preparatory meeting.

So too would leaders and officials of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), a regional economic bloc of which Haiti is a member.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning is the first Caricom head of government to confirm his attendance publicly.

The country's foreign minister, Paula Gopee-Scoon, said the conference would discuss "the formulation of a strategy to assist the medium and long-term recovery of Haiti."

Telephone Call

The Dominican Republic has been become a staging post to ferry relief teams and supplies to Haiti.

US President Barack Obama has personally thanked Mr Fernandez for his nation's assistance, according to the White House.

In a telephone call, Mr Obama expressed appreciation for the role the Dominican Republic has played in facilitating the evacuation of US citizens and in the flow of aid into Haiti.

	Food aid is starting to reach victims, but most remain desperate

Jamaica has been selected as Caricom's lead nation for coordinating regional aid to Haiti.

The Jamaican Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, was the first leader from the grouping to visit Port au Prince.

A Jamaican medical and military team is already in Haiti to join the international effort.

Turned Back

An official Caricom delegation, including two Prime Ministers, failed to make it on the ground in the Haitian capital on Friday because of airport congestion.

An official was quoted as saying that the aircraft carrying the delegation was told that it would have to stand in a queue for three hours before being allowed to land.

The Caricom team was not the only flight turned back.

A French hospital aircraft was prevented from landing on the same day after a major logjam of dozens of planes carrying rescuers and supplies for survivors.

France denied that it had protested to the Americans, who have been given control of the airport by the Haitian authorities.

	Aircraft carrying Barbados Prime Minister was turned back

The Prime Minister of Barbados, David Thompson, has said that Caricom had decided that the group's best contribution would be in the provision of a field hospital and the restoration of electricity.

"All of our financial resources would go toward that ...," he said.

Missing nationals

Meanwhile, the Caricom Secretariat said it had learnt that four delegates who were attending a meeting of the of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System when the quake struck, had not been accounted for.

The delegates are nationals of St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and the Netherlands Antilles (2).

Earlier, two officials from the Antigua-based Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority, including the Director General Rosemond James, were also reported missing.

Several Caribbean and international governments last week said they would relax immigration restrictions against Haitians.

The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, home to thousands of Haitians, were among those suspending deportation of illegal migrants.

Dominica said that it would extend the stay of all Haitians already on the island by six months.

Border crossing

The Canadian government said it will expedite immigration applications from Haitians with family in Canada and give immigration priority to Haitians adversely affected by the devastating earthquake.

The United Nations said increasing numbers of Haitians were trying to cross the border into the Dominican Republic, on the eastern side of Hispaniola island, and to other Haitian cities.

"I'd go to any place but away from this city," one resident, Talum Saint Fils, told the Agence France Presse news agency.