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«Welcome to Haiti, the country of the Sun and laughter" culture, art and beauty. In the heart of the Caribbean, Haiti is a unique jewel with its fine sandy beaches, its lush greenery, its monuments that defy the time, its rhythms that capture.
Haiti, is a wise cocktail of cultures, magic, mysteries and adventures.
Haiti, is the island of light, bringing joys and delights to all her visitors.
Discover our picturesque nature; our aromas and unique flavors to you through the world!
Here, the sun shines continuously in an ever blue sky!»
Located one hour and forty minutes’ flight from Miami in the heart of the Caribbean, opposite the Panama Canal, along the strategic thoroughfare of the North American and emerging Latin American markets, Haiti’s geographical position grants it easy access to markets in the United States of America in the north, and places it in an ideal position for companies and entrepreneurs seeking to make investments in an effort to reach the North American market.
The Taino Indians who inhabited the island had given it the name « Ayiti », which means high land. In 1492, the arrival of Christopher Columbus from Spain led to the extermination of the aboriginal population. France and Spain who divided up the island in 1697, seized Blacks from the African coasts to work as slaves on their thriving plantations in Saint Domingue and Hispaniola. After three centuries of this treatment, the slaves and free Blacks rose up. Led by General Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexandre Pétion and Henry Christophe, they were victorious against the powerful French expeditionary corps in the glorious battle of Vertières on the 18th of November 1803. Independence in the western part of the island of Saint Domingue which belonged to France was declared on 1st January 1804. The new state became Haiti, the first free Black Republic in the world.
In accordance with the 1987 Constitution in force today, Haitian citizens delegate the exercise of national sovereignty to three (3) powers – the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. The Executive has two heads – the President and the Prime Minister. The President is elected by universal suffrage for a term of five (5) years. The President can serve for only two terms which are not consecutive, according to the 1987 Constitution. Together with the two Houses of Parliament, the Senate and House of Representatives, he appoints a Prime Minister who assumes the duties of Head of Government.
Fiscal year 2007-2008 will have been one of the most difficult moments for the Haitian economy during the past five years. Affected by multiple internal and external shocks, gross domestic product (GDP), according to preliminary estimates, only grew in volume by 1.3 % in 2008. In fact, the worldwide oil and food crises, and the four back to back hurricanes at national level seriously hampered at varied degrees the positive development of the different sectors of the economy.
The primary sector was the most affected with the fall in real terms of nearly 6 % of the value-added of the agricultural branch. This bad performance is particularly due to the harmful effects of climate change at the end of the fiscal year causing enormous losses in terms of vegetal and animal productions. The performance of the secondary sector differentiated with 0.1 % of manufacturing industries and the increase of more than 5 % of the value-added at constant price of the construction branch. The tertiary sector did not follow that pattern with a 5 per cent increase attributable especially to the performance of the transportation sector and Communications the a value-added of which grew up by 6.2 % in volume.
With respect to consumer prices, the world oil and food shocks have caused huge inflationary tensions in the Haitian economy resulting in annual inflation of about 20 % in September 2008.
In terms of perspectives, fiscal year 2009 is viewed with some uncertainty .At the regional level; the recession in the United States is running the risk of affecting some sectors of the Haitian economy. On the domestic front, the negative effects of the hurricanes, particularly on the agricultural sector cannot be ruled out. However, the measures already adopted and those announced for the recovery of the agricultural branch as well as interventions made in the construction sector and public works for the rehabilitation of the damaged infrastructure combined with the distributional positive impacts of these two sectors, should enable the economy, ceteris paribus, on the other part, achieve a growth of 2 to 2.5 % in 2009.
Finally, with respect to inflation, reduction in prices on the international market that is derived from the recession, combined with the announced improvement of the offer of domestic products clearly leads one to expect for a wicker inflation than the one known in 2008. Indeed, the most pessimistic scenario expects an inflation of 16 %, the most optimistic, 8 % and the average scenario, 12 %.
