European Council president Herman Van Rompuy has congratulated President Danilo Medina on the work he has done towards reaching a consensus on the special law on naturalization.
Van Rompuy was at the Presidential Palace in Santo Domingo at 11:30am yesterday, Monday 21 July to discuss bilateral issues with the President. After the meeting he said that the European Union wanted to help strengthen Dominican-Haitian relations where they may be found to be helpful, reported the Presidency.
He expressed his support for President Medina in the high-level discussions with the Haitian government and acknowledged that no other country could be more concerned about Haiti’s future, or stood to benefit so much from its stability and economic growth than its closest neighbor, the Dominican Republic.
He went on to talk about the importance of these factors in the process of integration of the Caribbean and Central American region and emphasized that the European Union is convinced of the advantages of systemic regional cooperation based on recognizing common interests and overcoming challenges for overall prosperity. He highlighted that as a member of SICA (Central American Integration System) and Cariforum (Caribbean), the Dominican Republic plays an important role as a bridge between Central America, the Caribbean and Europe.
“The Dominican Republic’s signing of the Lome IV Convention was an unprecedented event that should be highlighted on the occasion of its 25th anniversary in order to give a new push to our relations,” he stated at the press conference at the Presidential Palace.
Van Rompuy is scheduled to meet with President Medina and President Michel Martelly of Haiti at the Hard Rock Hotel in Punta Cana at 10am today, Tuesday 22 July 2014. As reported in Diario Libre, the European Union has indicative plans for Haiti and the DR as well as a binational plan. The Dominican Republic is being represented at the meeting by the Minister of Economy Temistocles Montas, Minister of Industry Jose Manuel Castillo, Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo and Administrative Minister Jose Ramon Peralta.
http://presidencia.gob.do/comunicados/rompuy-saluda-esfuerzos-presidente-medina-por-consensuar-ley-de-regularizaci%C3%B3n
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2014/07/22/i711801_repblica-dominicana-unin-europea-buscarn-mayor-fomento-del-comercio-inversin.html