(Port of Spain, January 11th 2013) Three months shy of hosting the 5th Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) in Haiti, the Secretary General of the ACS traveled to this ACS Member Country on Thursday 10th January to convene meetings with various representatives from the Government of Haiti where he was apprised of the progress of advancement of the Summit. He was accompanied by Mathieu Fontanaud, Adviser of the Directorate of Transport and Disaster Risk Reduction.

In a series of four separate meetings, the first was held between the Secretary General and the National Coordinator of the 5th Summit, Dr. Watson Denis. Also in attendance were representatives from the various Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Culture, Tourism, Finance, Trade and Transport, who comprise the different Sub Commissions under the umbrella of the National Commission of the Summit.

These Sub Commissions are as follows: Budget and Logistics, Tourism and Cultural Activities, Police and Security, Welcome and Protocol, Reproduction of Documents, Translation and Interpretation. The National Commission disclosed that two rehearsals of the Summit were planned in order to better prepare on matters related to security and communication. Secretary General Múnera was satisfactorily briefed on the advancement of the preparation of these Commissions.

During this mission, the Secretary General also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Pierre-Richard Casimir. Both diplomats shared their enthusiasm and optimism regarding the 5th ACS Summit. They also discussed the upcoming Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which will also take place in Haiti from 18th -19th February and the I CELAC Summit from 25th – 28th January in Chile, which they were both looking forward to participate.

The Secretary General was then invited to meet with the Secretary General of the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr. Michel Brunache, where discussions revolved around the preparations of the Summit.

On the final leg of his trip, Secretary General Múnera accepted the invitation to visit hotels selected to host the Summit. These hotels include:

Best Western

Royal Oasis

NH Rancho

Villa Créole

Kinam I and II

Karibe Convention Centre

Hotel Montana

The ACS has organised four (4) Summits of Heads of State and Government. They met in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, in August 1995; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in April 1999; Margarita Island, Venezuela, in December 2001; and Panama City, Republic of Panama, in July 2005. The President of the Republic of Haiti, His Excellency Michel Joseph Martelly, on the very day of his oath of office, May 14, 2011, suggested to the then Secretary General the convening of the 5th Summit of the ACS in Haiti. From then to now, the Haitian authorities have committed to make this 5th ACS Summit a great national, regional and international event.