At the 33rd Summit of CARICOM, the President Martelly had several bilateral meetings. The Head of State met with Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Dr. W. Baldwin Spencer, who reaffirmed his continued support for reconstruction efforts in Haiti and announced a scholarship program in the field of tourism "We are offering a number of scholarships to Haitian students pursuing courses in hospitality education [tourism] commencing September 2012-2014. [The ABHTI and the Ministry of Tourism in Haiti will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to give effect to the scholarship programme]

We also want to explore trade and development initiatives which could lead to the sharing of expertise on matters such as the Economic Partnership Agreement, the participation of Antigua and Barbuda carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers and contractors in large infrastructural development projects in Port-au-Prince and the training of Haitian workers. To that end, a small delegation from Antigua and Barbuda will visit Haiti shortly for further discussions [...]"

In his reply, President Martelly acknowledged the continuing challenges in his country and welcome the unwavering support of Antigua and Barbuda to Haiti’s reconstruction. He considered the dialogue as a positive example of CARICOM partnership and regional integration and expressed a desire to further engage Antigua and Barbuda in several other areas including, but not limited to tourism, a priority sector for Haiti, and culture.

President Martelly, accompanied by Wilson Laleau, the Haitian Minister of Commerce, also met Fred Mitchell, Foreign Minister of the Bahamas in order to discuss strategies to curb the influx of Haitian migrants from the North of Haiti, who continue to illegally enter the Bahamas and to discuss a possible agricultural trade agreement with the Bahamas.

Concerning the lifting of the ban on imports of agricultural products of Haiti to the Bahamas, Fred Mitchell has summarized the situation "One of the issues is the present fight of sanitary procedures, the Bahamas does not allow agricultural goods to be imported directly from Haiti to the Bahamas." He acknowledged that the situation did not make sense, citing the example of mangoes from Haiti, "which are of excellent quality, to have to go through the United States before being shipped to the Bahamas."

He indicated that "some progress has already been made on the matter, it is up to the customs department and Ministry of Agriculture to resolve the issues."

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-6073-haiti-politic-haiti-wants-to-deal-on-equal-terms-with-its-caricom-partners.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-6068-haiti-politic-in-st-lucia-the-president-martelly-requires-tangible-benefits-for-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-6058-haiti-politic-the-president-martelly-in-st-lucia-to-defend-the-interests-of-haiti.html

SL/ HaitiLibre