Haiti, Venezuela to Establish Direct Air Transportation Links

Haitian prime minister, Laurent Lamothe, said on Monday that a newly signed project to establish direct air transportation between Venezuela and Haiti will help strengthen ties between the two nations, arguing that travelers, from or toward one of the two countries, will no longer have to go through a third country to reach their destination.

Lamothe said the direct air link between the two countries will facilitate exchanges between Haitian and Venezuelan business private sectors and other interest groups within the two countries.

"Now if you want to go from Haiti to Venezuela, you have to go through Miami or through another country," Lamothe told HCNN on Monday.

"And that makes it more difficult and more expensive for people to travel between the two countries," he said.

On the margins of the PetroCaribe meeting in the Haitian capital, Lamothe and Rafael Ramirez, representing the Venezuelan government, signed on Saturday a protocol to establish direct air transportation between Caracas and Port-au-Prince.

Ministers of 21 countries, including three observer country representatives, attended the 11th ministerial meeting of PetroCaribe, which organizers and participants described as a success.

Several issues, regarding the implementation of the different mechanisms and strategic tools of the functioning of the PetroCaribe Economic Zone, were discussed.

The discussions addressed sectors such as trade, tourism, transport and communications, agriculture, as well as social programs and cultural initiatives.