Dominican Republic taps delegates for talks with Haiti

Santo Domingo.- Presidency chief of staff GustavoMontalvo on Thursday announced the members of Dominican Republic’s high-levelCommission for the dialogue with Haiti counterparts to discuss bilateral issues,including the controversial ruling that makes it harder for thousands ofHaitian-Dominicans to obtain citizenship.

Montalvo will head the Dominican Commission that includesthe ministers of Interior and Police, José Ramón Fadul, and Industry and Commerce,Jose del Castillo, interim Foreign minister José Manuel Trullols, andPresidency legal adviser Cesar Pina.

In a statement, Montalvo said the dialogue’s first meetingagreed by presidents Danilo Medina and Michel Martelly in Venezuela in November,will be held in Ouanaminthe, Haiti on Tuesday, January 7.

The dialogue will deal with issues related to migration,trade, resources, environment, security, disasters, among others, with onerepresentative each from the Venezuelan government, the European Union and the CaribbeanCommunity-Caricom as observers

Montalvo said when the dialogue deals with topics ofinterest for business, each country will designate a sector representative to attendas an observer. "All hopes are hinging on that from these talks proposaland solutions will arise that contribute to the well-being and development of DominicanRepublic and Haiti."