Overview:
Dade County infrastructure and Haitian enterprise leaders gathered July 16-17 in Miami to debate strengthening commerce, infrastructure and funding ties with Haiti’s Nice South. They emphasised alternatives in logistics, tourism and infrastructure sectors.
MIAMI—Throughout a two-day commerce mission with Miami-Dade officers, Haitian authorities and enterprise leaders showcased Les Cayes—the capital of the South Division—as a strategic financial hub to spice up commerce between the U.S. county and southern Haiti. For members of the visiting delegation and diaspora supporters, Les Cayes represents a possibility to reposition southern Haiti as a middle for commerce, tourism and growth, particularly as Port-au-Prince continues to spiral deeper into disaster.
“We’re persevering with to develop contacts to draw important investments into the Nice South,” mentioned Anselme Joseph, coordinator of the Fee for the Promotion of Investments within the Nice South area—following the conferences.
“It falls on us to alter the narrative about Haiti to draw funding alternatives,” Joseph advised The Haitian Instances. “Earlier than assembly the Miami-Dade infrastructure and enterprise leaders, most of them had been satisfied that the entire nation [Haiti] was shut down by gang exercise.”
Whereas there are enterprise alternatives within the nation, Haiti’s funding and commerce local weather stays tough. In recent times significantly, companies in Haiti have continued to face main disruptions as a result of power provide interruptions, political instability and chronic gang-led highway blockages. Obstacles to funding embrace poor infrastructure, weak protections for traders, inconsistent contract enforcement, excessive power prices and corruption.
Led by Jocelin Villier, director basic of Haiti’s Nationwide Port Authority (APN), and Ebert François, president of the Collective of Chambers of Commerce and Trade of the Nice South (CCCIGS), the Haitian delegation aimed to:
- Strengthen business connections between companies in Haiti’s Nice South—together with the South, Southeast, Grand’Anse and Nippes departments—and Miami‑based mostly logistics, tourism and infrastructure sectors.
- Discover bilateral investments in port and airport modernization, power and tourism.
- Faucet Miami’s experience in managing large-scale commerce hubs to tell growth methods for southern Haiti, significantly Les Cayes.
The Worldwide Commerce Consortium, a part of the Miami-Dade County authorities, hosted the delegation with help from PortMiami and the Beacon Council. In line with Miami officers, such missions supply small and mid-size companies a possibility to discover new export markets and diversify the U.S.–Haiti commerce relationship, particularly between much less developed areas like South Miami-Dade and Haiti’s southern area.
Les Cayes promoted as new business hub
Les Cayes featured closely throughout the talks as a possible answer to stalled commerce. The delegation goals to draw long-term funding and shift the nation’s growth mannequin away from overdependence on its risky capital.
“We’re not making an attempt to interchange Port-au-Prince,” Joseph mentioned. “We try to create another financial hall that’s safer, extra decentralized, and extra linked to sustainable growth objectives.
“We should seize this second—if U.S. airways and traders see actual alternative, they’ll step in,” he added. “We should put together the bottom in Les Cayes now.”
Haitian officers accomplished the long-delayed step by increasing the airport runway from 1,350 to 1,850 meters and making it potential to accommodate plane with 50 to 80 passengers.
Positioned alongside Haiti’s southern shoreline, roughly 125 miles from Port-au-Prince, Les Cayes serves because the business heart of the area, which has lengthy been an agricultural stronghold, producing rice, corn, beans, espresso, cocoa, sugarcane, vetiver and different export crops.
It additionally boasts key belongings that help its ambitions. Antoine-Simon Airport—Haiti’s third-largest aviation facility, after Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien airports—just lately underwent upgrades to organize for worldwide flights. Authorities authorities inaugurated the completion of runway and terminal upgrades, formally elevating the airport to satisfy world requirements—though extra work must be executed.
Seen as gateways for the long-isolated areas of southern Haiti, each the worldwide airport and port are anticipated to facilitate the motion of individuals, the import and export of products, create jobs and scale back dependency on Port-au-Prince, primarily by highway and restricted maritime transportation. Proponents say the port of Les Cayes, whereas in want of modernization, gives a direct maritime gateway to regional markets, significantly to Florida and the broader Caribbean Basin.
Authorities additionally reopened the Saint-Louis du Sud Port about 30 miles away in January, following a $6.5 million improve.
Promising financial revival and decentralization, the Saint-Louis-du-Sud Worldwide Port gives a essential various to gang-controlled routes, however questions on infrastructure, safety, and administration stay.
Alternatives touted embrace logistics, because the area is residence to rising investments in renewable power, poultry farming and small-scale manufacturing. Cooperatives, tech-enabled agri-business ventures and a rising curiosity from diaspora traders all contribute to a imaginative and prescient of Les Cayes as a development engine for Haiti’s southern area.
From Les Cayes metropolis heart, companies can connect with the primary cities of the south’s different departments like Jérémie, Jacmel and Miragoâne.
“These ships leaving PortMiami, often stuffed with U.S. imports, come again from Haiti empty.”
Anselme Joseph, coordinator of the Fee for the Promotion of Investments within the Better South
The area’s pure magnificence—together with coastal plains, picturesque seashores, entry to Île-à-Vache and proximity to cultural landmarks—additionally makes Les Cayes a possible tourism vacation spot. Nonetheless, stakeholders emphasize that infrastructure growth, improved transport corridors and higher governance might be essential to turning that potential into tangible features for native communities.
Joseph mentioned the area must make the most of its new port and airport infrastructures to develop exchanges with Miami-Dade, residence to a whole lot of 1000’s of Haitian People and a gateway to the Caribbean.
“Proper now, there is no such thing as a business trade between Miami-Dade and southern Haiti,” he mentioned. “That’s besides for infrequent cargo shipments to the Miragoâne port, [about 60 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince].”
“These ships leaving PortMiami, often stuffed with U.S. imports, come again from Haiti empty,” he added.
The Haitian delegation is anticipated to host follow-up visits in Port-au-Prince and Les Cayes in September.