Haiti's government can lead efforts to rebuild the country in the wake of its devastating earthquake, Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive has said. But Mr Bellerive told a meeting of world officials in the Canadian city of Montreal that "massive support" from the international community was needed. The Montreal meeting was held to assess the aid effort and plan the next steps. The delegates agreed to hold an international donors' conference at the UN headquarters in New York in March. But Canadian Prime Stephen Harper warned that it would take a decade to rebuild Haiti. "It was not an exaggeration to say that at least 10 years of hard work awaits the world in Haiti," Mr Harper said. It is believed the 7.0 magnitude quake on 12 January killed as many as 200,000 people. An estimated 1.5 million people have been left homeless. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is attending the conference along with delegates from 20 countries and representatives from the UN and the World Bank. 'Vital needs' "The Haitian government is working in precarious conditions but it can provide the leadership that people expect," Mr Bellerive said. "The top priority right now is to satisfy the vital needs of victims, like food and water, shelter and health care." He added: "Haiti needs the massive support of its partners in the international community in the medium and long term. The extent of the task requires that we do more, that we do better and, without a doubt that we work differently." Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon welcomed the US offer to host an international donors' conference in March. "We now have the beginnings of a road map toward Haiti's long-term reconstruction and a clear and sustained commitment to follow through," Mr Cannon was quoted as saying by French news agency AFP. Mr Cannon said one goal was to "physically get the Haitian government back on its feet". The quake destroyed key government buildings, including the National Palace.