Yesterday, Monday 3 February, representatives from the Dominican Republic and Haiti met for talks on establishing control of revenues at customs, preventing drug dealing, arms dealing and people trafficking, and establishing rules for immigration. This was a follow up to the first meeting held in Haiti on 7 January. The parties agreed on monthly meetings at the start of each month.
Presidency Minister Gustavo Montalvo said that significant progress was made during the talks, which took place at the Jimani border and lasted for over 10 hours. The declaration in Spanish and French with the agreements reached during the meeting was not issued until 1am today, Tuesday 4 February.
The delegates discussed creating new procedures for allowing air transport regulation for people and products, reciprocal promotion and protection of investments, and border market management.
The delegations also agreed to set up a bi-national observatory funded by the European Union to follow up on the agreements. Both parties also agreed on a Cooperation Plan for the two countries’ national police forces. The cooperation plan has six basic areas of focus: training, exchange of intelligence information, criminal investigations, search and capture of fugitives and joint operations.
The National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) and the Haitian National Police also signed an inter-institutional agreement for counteracting drug trafficking.
Montalvo said that both nations were concerned about how to ensure order and peace along the more than 200 kilometers of the border and stop illegal transactions.
In terms of immigration, the Dominican government said that the process of implementing the Foreigner Legalization Plan was at an advanced stage and should be completed by May 2015. A public information campaign will start this month. The plan is aimed at ensuring that no residents in the Dominican Republic remain without legal documentation n with working permits, legal residency, tourists or Dominican nationals.
The Dominican commission members were Montalvo, Minister of Interior and Police Jose Ramon Fadul, Minister of Industry and Commerce Jose del Castillo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Relations Jose Ramon Trullols, and legal advisor to the Presidency Cesar Pina Toribio.
Haiti was represented by Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, Foreign Relations Minister Pierre Richard Casimir, Interior Minister David Bazile, Minister of Commerce Wilson Laleau, and Nesmy Manigat, legal advisor to the Prime Minister.
http://presidencia.gob.do/comunicados/resultados-dialogo-republica-dominicana-y-hait%C3%AD-firman-acuerdos-de-colaboracion www.scribd.com/doc/204463500/Declaracion-de-Jimani-Segundo-Dialogo-de-Alto-Nivel-Haiti-y-Republica-Dominicana
dr1.com/premium/news/2014/Jimani_Statement.pdf
www.diariolibre.com/dlenglish/2014/02/04/i467531_dominican-republic-and-haiti-advance-guidelines-commerce-and-immigration.html