President Hipolito Mejia decorated former US President George Bush with the Order of Duarte, Sanchez y Mella in the rank of Great Gold Cross. President Mejia met with the former US statesman at the home of Venezuelan media mongul Gustavo Cisneros at Casa de Campo. During the ceremony, Mejia reminded Bush that the US plays a dominant role in the Dominican economy as its largest export market, principal trading partner and because over a million Dominicans reside in the United States. Foreign Affairs Minister Hugo Tolentino Dipp and US Ambassador Hans Hertell and his wife attended the ceremony. Also present were President Mejia’s children, Ramon Hipolito and Carolina, and their respective spouses. Bush is accompanied on this trip by his daughter Dorothy Bush Koch and had visited previously as Vice President in 1981.