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A worker walks at Terminal Varreux in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on November 8, 2022.<\/p>\n
RICHARD PIERRIN<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The European Union is one of the few foreign donors that provides direct budget support to Haiti\u2019s government. Now after years of relying on that traditional model of assistance, European countries are seeking to redefine the relationship by introducing the bloc\u2019s flagship global investment initiative to Haiti and its entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere in Haiti, with all the crises and the security situation, we have followed a traditional cooperation scheme,\u201d said H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Roos, the European Union\u2019s ambassador to Haiti. \u201cBut now, when we\u2019re hoping for \u2026some improvement on the security side, I think it\u2019s time to talk about investments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t wait. We should start now to put people in contact,\u201d she said, adding that Haitian and European partners need to begin building relationships.<\/p>\n
The first step comes Monday, when the European Union, at the request of Haiti\u2019s private sector, will host a conference in Port-au-Prince introducing its Global Gateway investment strategy. The event is intended not only to explain the worldwide initiative but also to show Haitian entrepreneurs and businesses how they can participate by developing projects in sectors such as climate resilience, infrastructure, seaports and renewable energy.<\/p>\n
Among the featured speakers will be Jacques Attali, the renowned French economist, social theorist and former presidential adviser. Attali, who will address the conference remotely, is also the author of 86 books.<\/p>\n
\u2018Trade over aid\u2019<\/p>\n
Launched in 2021, Global Gateway is often described as Europe\u2019s answer to China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing\u2019s controversial signature foreign policy and development programs that several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have turned to finance roads, ports, and other projects. Roos prefers a different description of Europe\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a worldwide investment strategy for building a beneficial partnership and mobilizing public and private resources\u201d to help close global investment gaps, she said of Global Gateway. \u201cIt\u2019s quite successful all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The European Union originally set a goal of mobilizing 300 billion euros in public and private investment between 2021 and 2027. Last fall, the European Commission announced that the target had already been met and raised its ambition to 400 billion euros.<\/p>\n
Europe has allocated 340 million euros to Haiti to implement development projects before 2028 and another 25 million to 40 million a year in humanitarian assistance. European member states have also pledged 64 million euros to the United Nations Trust Fund for the new Gang Suppression Force to help the security forces take back territory from armed groups. Meanwhile, 10 million euros also go to fund the Haiti National Police.<\/p>\n
While the funds help keep the country afloat, they haven\u2019t necessarily helped build or mobilize the kinds of partnerships that are necessary to help Haiti build long-term sustainable development. That\u2019s where Roos, who has promoted such partnerships in other diplomatic postings come in.<\/p>\n
When she arrived in Port-au-Prince, one of her first priorities was to tell Haitian officials that Europe\u2019s approach to assistance was changing. Rather than relying primarily on traditional aid, the European Union wants to leverage public financing to attract more private investment for infrastructure and other development needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt represents really, a paradigm shift in our international cooperation,\u201d she said. \u201cThe idea is to expand this approach by moving toward more strategy, investment logic focusing on leveraging public and private capital, and we are mobilizing all member states in this.\u201d<\/p>\n
The strategy combines European Union grants with loans from public financial institutions such as the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Technical assistance is also available to help governments and businesses identify, design and structure investments, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the way we\u2019ve proposed our partners in Haiti to work,\u201d Roos said.<\/p>\n
Haiti\u2019s business community has long been criticized for monopolistic practices and a reluctance to collaborate. While a younger generation of entrepreneurs has shown greater interest in partnerships, many established business leaders continue to favor tightly controlled networks.<\/p>\n
Such obstacles became clear last year when the European Union found itself trying to broker a yearslong unresolved dispute involving a European investor whose proposed $60 million expansion of Terminal Varreux<\/a> has stalled amid disagreements with Haitian authorities over administrative approvals. The dispute prompted the European Union to raise broader concerns about competition at Haiti\u2019s seaports and longstanding restrictions on where customs officials can process cargo arriving in Port-au-Prince.<\/p>\n Roos declined to discuss the dispute, preferring instead to highlight what she sees as encouraging signs: growing interest among Haiti\u2019s chambers of commerce in Global Gateway and the government\u2019s recent emphasis on \u201ctrade over aid.\u201d<\/p>\n Finding opportunities in Haiti<\/p>\n That was also the message this week in Paris, where some Haitian business leaders traveled for a weeklong economic forum exploring investment opportunities between Haiti and the French Caribbean. The conference was organized by Senator Micheline Jacques of Saint-Barth\u00e9lemy in partnership with Institute Macaya, a network of Haitian business leaders and entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n Jean-Paul Faubert of Institute Macaya said with most of the discussion around Haiti focused on the insecurity, \u201cpeople do not talk enough about the provinces\u201d and the investment opportunities that exist in those areas.<\/p>\n The gathering in Paris, he said, was \u201can opportunity to educate the people about Haiti\u201d and explore investment opportunities. \u201cThey will come with their know-how, funding from Europe and can produce stuff in partnership with Haitian companies to serve not only the Haitian market\u201d but they can also export to the islands at cheaper costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is to start talking,\u201d Faubert said. \u201cThere will be opportunities in Haiti going forward, and they are worth looking at.\u201d<\/p>\n This is also the same message, Roos hopes to convey on Monday. Through examples of other projects like renewable energy in Bolivia and sargassum management in the Caribbean, she wants to get Haitians to start thinking about how they can come together to bring about long-term development in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to make a shift\u201d she said, adding that Europe believes that with Haiti\u2019s human capital and improved governance, the country can move forward. \u201cThat is our interest, to have a strong, stable Haiti.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a momentum,\u201d Roos added. \u201cNow the proposal is to see if we can work together in order to make this momentum a success, and we are ready to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 1:42 PM.<\/p>\n