President Leonel Fernández received a warm welcome from Haitians that lined up along the road from the international airport to the city of Port-au-Prince. Earlier, at the international airport, Presidents Fernández and Rene Garcia Preval of Haiti expressed their hopes for the start of a new era in bilateral relations between both countries. President Fernández traveled to Haiti yesterday for a 36-hour stay. This is the first time in the past 62 years that a Dominican statesman sleeps overnight on Haitian territory. "We have come here with the firm purpose of strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation that should exist between nations such as the Dominican Republic and Haiti, that more than sharing an island, share the challenges of the end of this millennium," said President Fernández upon arriving to Haiti on the presidential helicopter. President Fernández chose to travel to Haiti with probably the most numerous high-ranking delegation of Dominican officials that has ever accompanied him abroad. Some 90 Dominican officials traveled to Haiti for the event, most by bus. "We want to start a new era based on dialogue, on a dialogue that strengthens the democratic process and the search for solutions to the economic and social problems that affect our two nations. In his welcoming speech, President Preval said: "Instead of suffering because of the nearness, we have the opportunity to nourish our relations. This visit will permit a more in depth look and advances towards the conquest of a common ideal so that we can build together a sustainable development as our two people aspire. We have to bring together our efforts to reinforce the faith of our people in the construction of a better future."
