LAPLACE – Officials for the Port of South Louisiana and National Port Authority, or APN, recently signed a Sister Port agreement, marking the Port of South Louisiana’s first agreement with a Caribbean port.

The agreement was signed by Port of South Louisiana Commission President P. Joey Murray III and APN’s General Manager Alix Célestin during the latter’s attendance to the 36th Annual Conference of the Caribbean supported by the Caribbean Central American Action.

The APN’s objectives during this mission were to accentuate the location of the Caribbean Basin as it relates to the Panama Canal, to encourage new business opportunities for Haiti and to deepen cultural ties with Louisiana.

Both parties agreed to strengthen economic and commercial ties between the respective countries by focusing on exploring mutually beneficial initiatives, sharing information, best practices and policies and developing and facilitating trade and maritime services between the Port of South Louisiana and Haiti’s ports.

The National Port Authority is an independent entity of the Government of Haiti under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Its goal is, in part, to develop, maintain, operate and manage public port facilities in Haiti.