For the National Diaspora Day reception held on April 23rd in Petion-Ville, François Guillaume II, the new Minister of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE), has expressed the Government's vision and priorities regarding the Haitian Diaspora.

According to Minister Guillaume, the Government's goal is to "fully reintegrate the capacity of the Haitian Diaspora in their home country."

He presented the four steps that MHAVE plans to take to achieve this goal:

1) Initiate a real census campaign of the Diaspora to identify the location and size of Haitian communities abroad. This information will be used to plan other services for the Diaspora. The campaign is set to begin once the government starts the issuance of the new National Identity Cards of Haitians Abroad.

2) Mobilize the Diaspora to create an investment fund and a plan of action. Together with the CFI (Investment Facilitation Center), the MHAVE plans to engage the private investment firms so that the Diaspora can have the necessary technical analysis to invest its capital in socio-economic projects in Haiti.

3) Restore Haiti's image abroad. In collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, the CFI and the Ministry of Culture, MHAVE will begin an international campaign called 'Brand Haiti’, which aims to make members of the Diaspora the 'Ambassadors and guarantors' of Haiti's image abroad.

4) Establish a network of reception centers in Haiti as well as abroad. This network will allow MHAVE to better serve Haitians from abroad who come to Haiti. In collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they are also considering establishing such centers abroad.

The new Minister of Haitians Living Abroad didn't miss the opportunity to remind members of the Haitian Diaspora that they can now request a Haitian passport, unlike a few years ago.

This year's theme for the National Day of the Diaspora was "For the integration and active participation of the Diaspora".