Mr Martelly was well known as a musician, businessman and activist when he was elected president of Haiti in May 2011, just over a year after an earthquake ravaged much of the island's infrastructure, killed more than 300,000 people and left one million of its citizens homeless.

This was in part thanks to the active cooperation of Europe, he said, but more support was still needed. "No country can recover from poverty by simple handouts and charity. Surely we still need your help. But we also need productive work, trade and direct investment. Haiti is a strategic platform, a hub, investment-friendly, a jump-off point."

In the wake of the 2010 earthquake, the EU provided Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, with humanitarian relief of €321 million. At an international donor's conference in New York in March 2010, the EU made commitments for medium and long-term reconstruction aid of €1,235 billion - making it the single most important donor.

In March 2012, Haiti and the EU signed an accord giving the island nation more than €100 million euro for projects to be carried out in 2012-2013.

(source : https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/eu-affairs/20121116STO55688/haiti-needs-hope-help-and-investment-president-michel-martelly-tells-meps)