Haitian Prime Minister, Jacques Edouard Alexis. AFP PHOTO

"Haiti finds itself at a historical turning point ... in which it needs - more than ever - assistance from its partners," he told the opening session of an international donors' conference on aid to the poorest country in the Americas.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos told the gathering that donors would tie their aid to Haitian efforts to ensure "good governance".

Moratinos hailed the efforts of President Rene Preval, who was elected last February, to "consolidate strong and independent democratic institutions.

"The cornerstone is good government," the Spanish minister said, adding that the priority for donors would be to support "the modernisation of the state and the development of private initiative."

Foreign governments pledged to provide Haiti with 1.75 billion dollars (1.3 billion euros) following the ousting of President Jean Bertrand Aristide in 2004.

Moratinos said the conference, designed to coordinate aid and in so doing help stabilise the country, would assess how far donors had come to fulfilling their promises.

Alexis has said a part of the aid should be reserved for the budgets of different Haitian ministries rather than for specific projects.

Calling for backing of his efforts from institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Alexis told Spanish delegates in a bilateral meeting Wednesday Haiti needed a "systematic fight" against corruption, charging that some of the malpractice emanated "from countries which call themselves friends of Haiti."

An estimated 90 delegations from donor countries and global institutions are attending the meeting, a follow-up to a preliminary one held on July 25 in Port-au-Prince.

The cash raised will be ploughed into areas including the organisation of municipal and local elections planned by the end of the year, the development of a professional police force, reform of the judicial system and the disarmament and reinsertion of armed militia groups.

They all appear to agree on the need for assistance to Haiti to be better coordinated and to be subject to certain controls to ensure that it is not diverted by corruption.

The IMF said last week that Haiti was making a strong effort to reform, noting "good progress in strengthening macroeconomic performance and introducing key structural reforms."

In an attempt to stem unrest in the country, the United Nations has had a 7,000-strong military peacekeeping force in Haiti since June 2004 as well as 1,200 policemen.