higher education institution dedicated to the training of engineers and architects, deemed essential for the construction and renovation of national structures. g) Health Along with education, the government of Estimé wanted to remove the obstacles towards primary health care for the population. A vast and comprehensive plan was gradually implemented involving the equipping of hospitals and laboratories, the multiplication of health centres, the development of rural medicine and hygiene, the reorganisation of the Faculty of Medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. Thanks to a cooperation agreement with France, a number of French medical professors came to teach at the Faculty of Medicine to make up for the lack of Haitian professors who had resigned following the events of early 1946. Campaigns against yaws, malaria, child and endemic diseases were also launched, along with projects to improve public hygiene and fight against malnutrition and tuberculosis. The laws of September 27 and October 8, 1949, provided for the training of managers and technical staff, as well as the organisation of public health services throughout the country. h) Foreign Policy The Haitian foreign policy of President Estimé can be described with five main focus points: - The alliance with the United States of America. - Inter-American solidarity. - The firm adherence of the Republic of Haiti to the principles set out by the United Nations (UN) and the Organization of American States (OAS). - Support for decolonisation and the rights of peoples to self-determination - Respect for the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries By a law dated November 27, 1946 the government of Estimé reorganised the diplomatic and consular service of Haiti, as well as strengthening the relations with the other countries on the American continent. On July 15, 1948 the Haitian government signed a trade agreement with its Venezuelan counterpart, which defined the broad lines of economic cooperation between the two. With the law of September 6, 1949 Haiti established formal diplomatic relations with Guatemala. On August 22, 1947 diplomatic and consular relations were established between Haiti and the Republic of Panama. In September 1947, the Haitian representatives signed in Rio de Janeiro, then the capital of Brazil, the Inter-American Treaty of Mutual Assistance. In April 1948 the plenipotentiary envoys of Haiti signed in Washington, D.C. the Charter of the Organization of American States, which promoted new relations between the nations of this continent. Historical ties were strengthened with