The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) invited earlier this week in Nassau, dignitaries from Haiti at a conference to discuss business opportunities between the two Nations. The businessman, Gregory Mevs, Haiti Itinerant Special Ambassador for Investments, which was part of the Haitian delegation, said that Haiti, in full reconstruction, wanted greater cooperation with the businesses of Bahamas. Whether the expertise or direct investment in sectors such as construction, insurance, tourism and training "Haiti is open for business" he asserted, recalling that "in tourism, Haiti is spending a lot of money on infrastructure in the north on airports and terminals for cruise ships. And we need hotel rooms. We need everything. And we need people to train Haitians in this industry," stressing that both countries have no competing interests and that the future will be better if the two nations work together.

The Ambassador Mevs recalled that last year, Haiti had attracted $100 million in foreign investment. This year, Haiti is setting a "modest" goal of $300 million, estimating that in 2013, $600 million was a possible objective. Gregory Mevs said to his audience, that Haiti offered several incentives for foreign businesses, including an exemption of 15 to 20 years of income tax, on capital gains or stamp tax "If we work together [...] we can become a region that is much stronger [...] There is a special relationship between our nations. We can no longer look at normal trade or investment. Traditional partnerships will continue. What we need is to trade more with each other [...] We need to diversify our trade and our source of investments, and be more global players. The Bahamas can play a big role in certain industries in Haiti," says Gregory Mevs, to the local press.

For his part, Chester Cooper, President of BCCEC has called for the end to the embargo on the Haitian agricultural products, arguing that the food bill for the two countries can be greatly reduced if appropriate safeguards are in place "The Bahamas government should put in place its own inspection protocols and expedite the removal of these restrictions. Ending the embargo will not only reduce the cost of Haitian products imported into The Bahamas and improve trade, but taking it to a logical conclusion, it might help the Haitian economy and our relations with Haiti by improving commerce."

Attract investment from the Bahamas is an "top priority" estimated Ambassador Mevs.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-5880-haiti-bahamas-doing-business-with-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-5873-haiti-bahamas-business-opportunities-in-haiti.html

HL/ HaitiLibre