Haiti, Dominican Republic hold more talks, migrants issue looms

Santo Domingo.- The governments of Haiti and theDominican Republic are set to hold the second round of talks in Jimani (west) onMonday, but this time without the immigration issue on the agenda.

César Dargam, Deputy Foreign minister forEconomic Affairs, said the Commissioners from the two countries will deal with theissues of trade, agriculture and the environment.

During the first meeting held at Ouanaminthe on 7January, the two States had agreed not to include the immigration issue, and wouldcontinue addressing it in a second meeting.

He said however that this aspect ofDominican-Haitian relations, which has been the center of attention, after the ConstitutionalCourt ruling which defines the criteria for Dominican nationality, wasn’tincluded in today’s agenda.

Although in the first round Haiti acknowledged SantoDomingo’s sovereign right to enforce its immigration policy, uncertainty arose onceagain when president Danilo Medina, in the Latin American and Caribbean Community(CELAC) summit, slammed those who would question Dominican Republic’ssovereignty.

Dargam said the Dominican Commissioners, headed byPresidency chief of staff Gustavo Montalvo, are upbeat on the talks and predicted importantagreements for both nations.