On Tuesday, President Jovenel Moise left the country to lead a delegation to Grenada (Caribbean) to attend the 38th Ordinary Meeting of the CARICOM Conference of Heads of State and Government which is held from 4 to 6 July 2017.

Upon his arrival, President Moses declared, "My country wants to stop being perceived as a humanitarian destination, to take control of its destiny and to be worthy of the efforts of the founding fathers, forgers of civilization. Haiti wants to renew its status as a Caribbean country, country of the celebration of life, a country of hope on behalf of the Haitian people I would like to thank the government and the people of Grenada for their warm welcome to the Haitian delegation [...]"

Later in the evening at the 38th Ordinary Meeting, Jovenel Moise, in the presence of many Heads of State and Government of the Region, intervened, reiterating Haiti's commitment to contribute to the process of integration with this regional structure through ongoing economic and social reforms under its administration.

He recalled the steps he had already taken to continue negotiations aimed at revising the list of tariff concessions at the World Trade Organization (WTO). He also said that the negotiations are in the finalization phase and that Haiti is counting on the support and solidarity of the other CARICOM member states to bring this process to fruition.

Regarding the process of integrating Haiti into the CARICOM Market and Economy, President Moïse promised to focus on harmonizing Haitian standards with those in force in the region, on the certification of products of Community origin and the accommodation of Haiti in the common external tariff of CARICOM.

With regard to regional and hemispheric security, he assured that Haiti would support all CARICOM initiatives, whether in the area of combating organized crime or combating illicit trafficking of narcotics.

Jovenel Moïse also renewed Haiti's commitment to continue working with all countries and fraternities, all partners at the regional level, to take an active part in the economic growth and sustainable development of the large Caribbean community.

The Head of State will return to the country on Wednesday 5 July.

HL/ SL/ HaitiLibre