According to a report in Hoy, Haitian affairs expert Alfonso Torres stated yesterday that there are currently an estimated 1.6 million Haitian immigrants in the DR, as confirmed by data of the Dominican Center of Strategic Studies on Haiti, an institution that monitors the information that is published around the world about that country. He also believes that it is urgent to draw up a migratory agreement between the DR and Haiti for the regulation of Haitian labor, similar to the agreement signed with Spain. A British agency, International Cooperation for Development, sets the number of Haitian immigrants and Dominicans of Haitian origin at just 300,000. Torres warned that the lack of official and reliable data is a serious problem for the DR as well as for the implementation of development policies. He also stated that it is a reflection of the lack of institutionalism in the Dominican state when it comes to migratory policy and immigration. Torres spoke during a panel discussion held by the Dominican Center of Technology and Sciences (CEDOTEC) at Universidad Catolica de Santo Domingo.