Jimani in the Dominican Republic will be the setting for today’s meeting, Monday 3 February, between Dominican government and business representatives, and delegates from Haiti, in the presence of international observers. The talks are aimed at reaching agreements in the areas of environment, trade, fighting drug trafficking and crime as well as the sensitive issue of immigration.
Presidency Minister Gustavo Montalvo, who is heading the Dominican delegation, said that security, immigration and environment were high on the agenda. Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe is heading the Haitian delegation.
The Dominican government had adopted a laissez-faire approach towards immigration for many years, and even President Danilo Medina admitted that the government looked the other way where Haitians were concerned. However, Constitutional Court ruling 168-13 put an end to this by ordering the implementation of an immigration legalization plan that was passed by Congress in 2004 but was never implemented.