Above: OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza and Haiti President Michel Martelly (OAS Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Ministers of Culture from across Latin America and the Caribbean will be coming to Haiti in August for the VI Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Culture and Highest Appropriate Authorities.

Haiti and the Organization of American States signed a Memorandum of Understanding this week to host the event on Aug. 12 and 13.

This year’s ministerial meeting will be held under the theme of “Cultural Interdependence in the Context of Globalization.” It will additionally cover issues such as cultural entrepreneurship, local development through culture and culture and tourism.

OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza said that, for the OAS, “culture is at the core of its main instruments.”

It will be the latest regional conference to take place in Haiti, as the country’s government has been pushing to raise its profile within the region.

Haiti Foreign Minister Duly Brutus signed the agreement on behalf of Haiti, saying the country was ready “and honoured to receive all the ministers of culture of the region.”

He said the meeting was important to Haiti President Michel Martelly a musician by trade who “has worked hard to earn respect for Haitian art throughout the world.”