Prior to the government-to-government talks that took place in Jimani yesterday, Monday 3 February, Dominican and Haitian businesspeople held a meeting and announced their own agreements for strengthening relations. The meeting was named the Quisqueya Business Summit and took place on Friday, 31 January. The summit is seen as a permanent platform for the development and promotion of business and trade relations between the two nations.
As reported in El Dia, the business leaders agreed to back measures to reduce illicit trade, prepare a formal consultation procedure between governments and business sector prior to ordering trade bans and affecting trade. They also agreed to create a bi-national organization to promote the creation of joint investment projects, the same as a Haiti-DR Investment Fund to finance private sector projects that have been chosen.
These agreements and recommendations were contained in a statement read out by the businesspeople during the II Meeting of the High Level Bilateral Commission.
Haiti Industries Association president Norma Power read out the statement, and National Business Council (Conep) president Manuel Diez spoke on behalf of the Dominican business group. The resolutions were approved on Friday, 31 January during a meeting at a hotel in Petionville before the government-to-government talks on Monday, 3 February.
Dominican businessmen Juan Bautista Vicini, Fernando Capellan, Manuel Diez and Jose Singer took part in the talks. Bernard Craan, Didier Fils-Aime, Stephan Coles and Bah Tierno Oussemen represented Haiti, together with special guests Gregory Mews and Stanislav Wojwodzki, as reported in El Dia.