Above: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair began a visit to Haiti on Tuesday.

In a statement, the office of Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said Blair and Haitian officials would discuss “state reform and actions to be taken to accelerate the decentralization of Haiti.”

The latter has been a major stated priority of the administration of Haiti President Michel Martelly, aiming to expand development outside of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

The Prime Minister’s office also said the two sides would be discussing the issue of “improving the business environment in order to identify possible solutions to attract foreign capital” in Haiti.

Blair, who served as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007, previously met with Lamothe during the latter’s visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year.

Haiti President Michel Martelly is currently on a trip to Europe; he visited Belgium on Tuesday.