CARIBBEAN-SUMMIT-Haiti hosting public forum on regional trade

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Feb 23, CMC – Haiti will host a public forum on Friday to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country within the 15-member CARICOM grouping.
The forum, which begins at 6.00 pm (local time) will address a number of trade and integration matters, including trade requirements, the demand in the Caribbean market for goods and services, technical and academic cooperation, investment opportunities, transport infrastructure, and best practices of Haitian companies exporting to CARICOM countries.
A CARICOM Secretariat statement said that the forum forms part of the activities leading up to the two-day 29th Inter-Sessional Meeting of regional leaders that opens on Monday.
The forum will be held under the theme “Integration of Haiti in CARICOM: Challenges and Opportunities” and will be addressed by President Jovenel Moise, who is also the CARICOM chairman, the CARICOM Secretary General Irwin LaRocque as well as Trade Minister Pierre Marie Dumeny, and Bernard Craan , a representative of the private sector.
Haiti officially assumed membership of CARICOM in 2002 and Moise began his six month chairmanship of the integration grouping on January 1 this year, the secretariat noted.