KINGSTON, Jamaica – Caribbean Community (Caricom) Chairman Roosevelt Skerrit said he was "touched by the level of commitment" displayed by the commitment of the region’s emergency response team in Haiti.

"They have made all of us in Caricom extremely proud, they have gone down there, they have established themselves and they have established the Caricom post in Haiti," Skerrit told reporters here after a brief visit to the earthquake-ravaged country on Saturday.

Skerrit, who is Dominica’s prime minister, said although the regional team is a small contingent compared to those of other international agencies "the entire Haitian community is feeling the presence of the Caribbean Community there.

"I believe that at the appropriate time the Caribbean Community must recognise formally the efforts of everybody who is there. I am very, very touched by the level of commitment, dedication and the network that they have created for themselves in parts of Haiti where other international agencies have not entered," he added.

While in Port-au-Prince, Skerrit and the other members of the Caricom delegation met with President Réné Préval and other officials to update them on how the regional grouping plans to continue helping Haitians recover from a catastrophic earthquake on 12 Jan., that caused widespread devastation and killed 200,000 people.

He added that the meeting gave Préval the opportunity to state how he wanted Caricom to assist, especially in negotiations with the international community.

"Haiti is depending on Caricom to provide them with that support with the international community and to ensure that at every stage Haiti’s sovereignty and Haiti’s views in respect to what Haiti wants will come to the fore.

"As it is now, there are a number of institutions and organisations who are making a pitch to lead the way in regards to Haiti’s reconstruction and building the new Haiti. President Préval has reiterated his willingness and his view of what Caricom should be doing in regards to international advocacy," the Dominican leader said.

The visit by the Caricom delegation came as the world’s richest countries pledged to cancel debts owed to it by Haiti, which was already the Western hemisphere’s poorest country ahead of the quake.