Above: St Kitts and Nevis PM Denzil Douglas and Haitian President Michel Martelly exchange gifts (Photo: OP)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Job creation and a strengthened government capacity are the keys to Haiti’s recovery, according to Haitian President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Garry Conille.

The two Haitian leaders made that point to the visiting CARICOM delegation in Haiti this week, stressing that job creation was vital not just to Haiti but to the Caribbean Community at large.

Martelly said agriculture would be a major factor in Haiti’s economic renaissance, given the “vast amount of land available” in Haiti.

The size of the Haitian market, whose population is nearly twice the size of the rest of CARICOM, could also prove crucial to the region, the President said.

Suriname’s Bouterse, who led the CARICOM delegation, said that by helping Haiti CARICOM “we are helping ourselves.”

According to CARICOM, Minister after Minister of the Haitian cabinet stressed the importance of the Caribbean Community’s continued involvement in Haiti.

The trip culminated in a Memorandum of Understanding on a number of issues, including trade and agriculture.