Against a backdrop of persistent national challenges, Haiti’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MCI) has laid early groundwork for its landmark Industry Week 2026, convening a cross-sector working session of public and private industry leaders at Port-au-Prince’s Montana Hotel on June 30, 2026. Scheduled to run for three days this coming September, the upcoming event is framed as a strategic, multi-stakeholder effort to breathe new life into Haiti’s underrecognized industrial landscape, creating a structured platform for collaborative reflection, stakeholder consultation, and actionable strategic planning to unlock the nation’s untapped industrial potential.
In his keynote address to the assembled participants, Minister of Commerce and Industry James Monazard emphasized that close coordination between public bodies, private enterprises, and industry stakeholders will be central to making the 2026 edition a definitive showcase for Haiti’s full industrial ecosystem. According to Monazard, the event’s programming will be centered on interactive panels and targeted thematic workshops, designed to generate tangible, implementable policy and development proposals that address sector-wide barriers and drive long-term growth.
A core mission of the event, Monazard explained, is to serve as an unrivaled exhibition space where Haiti’s diverse industrial expertise can be shared with both the domestic public and international investor communities, shining a clear spotlight on the country’s full range of domestic production capabilities. Moving beyond the common narrative that frames Haiti’s industrial sector as exclusively focused on textile manufacturing, Monazard emphasized that the nation boasts a broad, diverse landscape of skilled know-how and productive sub-sectors that have long been overlooked and deserve greater recognition and investment.
Addressing Haiti’s ongoing national challenges head-on, the minister acknowledged the immediate priorities of responding to the urgent humanitarian needs of displaced populations and rebuilding widespread public security. Even amid these pressing concerns, however, he stressed that sustaining core economic momentum and delivering long-term, targeted support to domestic productive sectors remains a non-negotiable priority for national recovery.
Monazard also highlighted that Industry Week 2026 will serve as a tribute to the remarkable resilience of Haitian entrepreneurs, who have continued to manufacture goods, innovate new products, and create local jobs despite operating in one of the world’s most challenging operating environments.
Speaking afterward at the Panel Paulemont session, MCI Director General Paulemont reaffirmed the ministry’s full commitment to the initiative, framing it as a pivotal opportunity to deepen the collaborative partnership between the Haitian state and private industry. The ultimate goal of this partnership, he noted, is to build a more structured, competitive national economic landscape that is attractive to domestic and foreign investment alike. Reaffirming the MCI’s commitment to ongoing dialogue and consultation with industry stakeholders, Paulemont emphasized that sustained joint effort between public and private actors is the only path to delivering sustainable long-term recovery for Haiti’s industrial sector, and the ministry remains dedicated to consolidating its collaborative ties with the private industry moving forward.