CARICOM’s Special Representative on Haiti and former Jamaica Prime Minister, P.J. Patterson has been invited to become a member of Haiti’s Presidential Advisory Council on Growth and Investment.
This was learnt Thursday when Haiti’s President Michel Martelly officially announced   the establishment of the Council at a press conference in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.
The Council’s first meeting is slated for September 21 in New York, while the committee itself will be made up of political and business leaders from around the world who represent a diverse set of skills and perspectives that together, President Martelly hopes, will contribute to a genuine transformation in Haiti.
Martelly told Patterson in his letter of invitation that it was because of his “… pedigree, personal skills, demonstrated leadership and involvement in social causes” that he was considered a suitable candidate for the job.” 
The Advisory Council, as outlined in Patterson’s invitational letter, will be charged with a three-fold set of objectives, namely: To promote the brand called ‘Haiti’; to advise the Office of the President on policy and strategic initiatives to improve the country’s competitiveness;to enhance the economic outlook and attract investments that will create sustainable jobs; and to solicit investment sources to spur economic growth.
Though conceding that the next several years will be challenging for Haiti, Martelly promised that they would be equally as exciting, since his administration remains committed to transforming the country as a place in which to “conduct business,” create sustainable jobs, and establish an enduring foundation upon which Haiti may rise to economic prosperity.
He said that the Advisory Council is expected to play a critical role in achieving this vision.
Among the select group invited to sit on the Council is former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who, like Patterson, is a member of the Interim Haitian Reconstruction Committee (IHRC).
Patterson has a long history of concern and commitment to Haiti as part of the Caribbean family. It was due, in no small measure, to his personal activism that Haiti was invited to become a member of CARICOM.