Above: Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe in Mexico (Photo: OPM Haiti)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe attended the inauguration of new Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City on Saturday.

Nieto succeeds former President Felipe Calderon, who sought to deepen ties with the Caribbean during the final year of his term.

Lamothe also reportedly met with United States Vice President Joe Biden during his trip, along with Dominican Republic Vice President Margarita Cedeño de Fernández. The latter discussion focused on social programmes currently being implemented in the Dominican Republic and how they might be executed in Haiti.

A conversation with South Korea’s Kim Hwang-sik focused on the need to encourage more South Korean companies to invest in Haiti, following the lead of Sae-a, which has invested at the Caracol industrial park.

Haiti and Mexico have increasingly been working together in the past year, most recently on an agreement that will grant 300 scholarships to Haitian students.

In July, Haiti and Mexico signed a Memorandum of Understanding focusing on the tourism sector. As part of that agreement, specialists from Mexico’s FONATUR tourism organization are providing technical support for Haiti’s Ministry of Tourism.

Last month, Haiti held its first-ever investment forum in Mexico at the Camino Real hotel, part of what Haiti’s embassy called “business diplomacy” with the country.

There is currently an ongoing exhibition on Haitian art, “Haiti: Stories and Dreams,” at Mexico City’s Museo de la Cancillería.