Port-au-Prince, June 17, 2015 – It was on the words of the Haitian Ambassador to Washington, Mr. Paul Altidor that “ Business Future of the Americas”, the annual regional conference of the ‘Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America and the Caribbean (AACCLA) “ Businessmen in the diaspora and in the country must learn to work together. You are already home, I used to tell them. We are here on a carpet of resources, they must be made to bear fruit ”. Mr. Philippe Armand, the president of AmCham Haiti, follows suit by inviting businessmen to dialogue, and noting that more than 200 meetings have taken place during B2B, business meetings between companies .
From June 15 to 17, 2015, the Marriott hotel in Port-au-Prince hosted this annual conference for the first time, on the theme “ Diaspora investments in Latin America and the Caribbean”. ” It was a competition, as if to decide the country where a World Cup will take place, and we are proud to have won it, and also that this meeting is such a success ” welcomed the organizers, gathered around the president. from the organizing committee, Régine René Labrousse, vice-president of the Amcham.
Information, best practices to be implemented to channel diaspora investments and sustainable methods to work in emerging markets were on the agenda of the presentations in which 14 countries participated.
After the official inauguration by the Prime Minister, Mr. Evans Paul , it was the former Bolivian President , Mr. Jorge Fernando Quiroga who opened this conference. Several high-level foreign speakers, including representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC, George Washington University, Heineken Americas, Western Union Caribbean and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) succeeded the Minister of Finance. , Mr. Wilson Laleau host of the first working lunch on the theme of financing the development of emerging markets.
On June 17, the forum “Doing Business in Haiti”, ” Doing business in Haiti” gave the opportunity to several personalities to meet in a succession of panels after a contextualization of the Haitian economy led by Mr. Kesner Pharel. The Minister of Tourism and Creative Industries, Ms. Stéphanie Villedrouin presented the Tourism Master Plan for Haiti, including private sector investments and invited all members of the diaspora to promote their country to support government efforts, particularly through the dissemination of the advertising campaign carried out in the United States.
The Minister of Tourism and Creative Industries, Ms. Stéphanie Villedrouin
During a masterful presentation, during the panel on the opportunities offered by agribusiness, the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Dorcin presented the development plan for agricultural production. This plan, which strives to strengthen local supply capacities and which projects a future that includes more autonomy and the development of a niche market while integrating with that of tourism, aroused keen interest from the assembly. As Philippe Armand concluded, “economic growth cannot happen without governments and therefore public-private partnerships. “
The Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Dorcin
More than 240 participants from the United States, the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica), Brazil and 10 other countries in the area, attended this conference “We are really satisfied with the participation of all, participants, panelists , sponsors. What is most important is to establish relationships and an environment capable of creating this dialogue. Decisions are not taken overnight, but a movement is already being made… reconciliations are being created, ”explains Régine René Labrousse. The Florida Haitian Chamber of Commerce, which was present in force to support the event, also showed its great satisfaction to see how much investment opportunities by the diaspora could find leads and partnerships.
A lunch “A taste of Haiti” at the brand new restaurant of the National Pantheon Museum (MUPANAH), brought together the presidents of the AmChams of the region around the specialties of the country. An exhibition of local products allowed throughout the event to open up business opportunities with the region.
“This activity is the most important that AmCham Haiti has conducted to date. We are a very active chamber of commerce and we have lots of projects to follow on www.amchamhaiti.com ”declares Vice-President Régine René-Labrousse.
The conference was organized with the great support of BRANA, Digicel, Comme il Faut, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Natcom and USAID.
AmCham would also like to thank its sponsors: Agence Citadelle, National Port Authority, CAH (Compagnie d’Assurance d’Haïti ) , Caribbean Export Development Agency, Cabinet Salès, Citibank, Dagmar, Delta Airlines, DHL Express, E-Power, Groupe Acra, Groupe Jean Vorbe, Ministry of Tourism, Rebo, Starcom Mediavest, Sunrise Airways, Valerio Canez, and the Organizing Committee : Agence Citadelle, AIC, AnnDex / Fedex, BRANA, Cabinet Sales, CAH, Ceramex, Dagmar, Delta, Digicel, Global Home & Office Smart, Access Haiti.