Port of Spain (October 31, 2008) – On the occasion of the inauguration of the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Haiti, H.E. Alrich Nicolas, a delegation from the Secretariat of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) comprising the Secretary General, Ambassador Luis Fernando Andrade Falla and the Political Adviser Dr. Watson Denis, visited Port-au-Prince, on 9 -10 October 2008, to discuss with the Haitian authorities a series of issues concerning Haiti’s triple role this year as Chairman of the ACS Ministerial Council, the ACS Special Committee on Budget and Administration, and the ACS Special Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction.

The ACS delegation met with Haitian Prime Minister, Mme. Michèle D. Pierre-Louis, and several government Ministers including Minister Nicolas; Minister of the Interior & Territorial Collectivities Mr. Paul-Antoine Bien-Aimé; Minister of Public Works, Transport & Communications, Engineer Jacques Gabriel and Minister of Trade & Industry, Mme. Marie Josée Georges Garnier.

Discussions focused on the planning and organising of the next meeting of the ACS Ministerial Council, to be held in Haiti in January 2009; and the ACS mission to the United Nations in October 2008, seeking a resolution to recognise, among other things, the Caribbean Sea as a special area in the context of sustainable development, and the 10th Business Forum of the Greater Caribbean, which is also scheduled to be held in Haiti in September 2009, was another topic of discussion.

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