Barbados will join ten other CARICOM member states in opening its borders to Haitian business and diplomatic travelers. Visa restrictions will be waved for this select group traveling to Barbados, in further efforts to encourage Haitian enterprise and political collaboration within the Caribbean.

The new visa wavier agreement was announced at the recent CARICOM Heads of Government meeting, held in Paramaribo, Suriname. Barbados Foreign Minister, Maxine McClean, and Haitian CARICOM Special Envoy, John P. Alexis, signed off on the new agreement.

"Haiti is a member of CARICOM and we, as members, have to facilitate our regional people," said Barbados Foreign Minister Maxine McClean. "Certainly, a good place to start is with businessmen, especially at this time. It is important that they be able to move around the region."

Airlines operating within the region will soon be officially notified about the new visa exemption. However, no guidelines about proving eligibility for this exemption or about applying for the new visa wavier have been confirmed.

Other official agreements passed include a six-month extension of the CARICOM office in Haiti, the official appointment of Guyana as an honorary consul to Haiti to help strengthen its agriculture sector, and the confirmation of a Suriname business delegation to visit Haiti within the next two weeks.