The Dominican Republic’s proposal for the Hispaniola Investment Fund met with the support of President George Bush at the Quebec Summit last week. President Mejia participated in a two-hour meeting with President Bush, US Secretary of State Colin Powell and President Jean Bertrand Aristide of Haiti to discuss the benefits of the plan. The Dominican press covering the event described President Mejia’s participation in the summit as very successful. His participation was recognized by his colleagues when he was chosen to give the closing speech of the summit. The Hispaniola Fund Proposal is one of the most proactive and realistic proposals for Haitian development ever presented. It was originally proposed by lawyer Luis Heredia Bonetti as part of Dominican Week (http://www.rvhb.com) activities and since then has received the support of the Ministry of Foreign Relations and the Dominican and Haitian business communities. El Siglo reports that President Bush agreed to send a delegation of businessmen and technicians to Haiti to evaluate projects that could be developed there. President Mejia said the Dominican government is readying programs for the free zones, highways, irrigation systems and reforestation it would like to carry out with the funds. Commenting on the meeting with Bush, President Mejia said: "The human side of President Bush was very interesting. He understands his role with the Americas and is very dedicated to us working together, which is very important."
