Above: Haiti President Michel Martelly (Photo: OP Haiti)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Haiti President Michel Martelly continued his visit to Chile this week vowing Haiti’s commitment to regional integration.
The Haitian leader is in Santiago this week for the EU-CELAC talks and the the CELAC Summit.
“My presence here demonstrates the willingness to integrate the region, to strengthen cooperation and to participate in debates on key decisions and on the adoption of resolutions that promote the development of the Caribbean,” he said in a statement from the National Palace.
Martelly said Haiti was committed to the functioning of a single market in the region, something he said would benefit Haiti.
Haiti’s President is also at CELAC representing CARICOM, which Haiti is currently chairing for the first time.
On that front, Martelly said he was defending the interests of the countries in the Caribbean and aiming to promote a “new Haiti” that seizes its own destiny. Haiti will also address the issues of free trade and migration, he said.
In a statement, Martelly said Haiti’s delegation would also focus on the efforts of Haiti’s government to establish a “genuine rule of law” in Haiti, along with a “sustainable energy policy” and the promotion of the environment.
Martelly also paid a visit on the small local Haitian population in Chile on Friday.