President Luis Abinader returned from Belize on the evening of 27 June 2023 after an around 24-hour trip to participate in the 57th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Central American Integration System (SICA). El Salvador will now hold the Pro Temporary Presidency of the regional bloc.
Speaking at the SICA meeting, President Luis Abinader called on the regional bloc members to support the resolution recently issued by the Organization of American States (OAS), which urges member states to send aid to Haiti to strengthen that country’s police force immediately.
The Dominican President reiterated his urgent call for the heads of government to use the means at their disposal to address the serious crisis affecting Haiti, implementing actions and joint efforts to make a lasting and sustainable response feasible.
President Abinader insisted that it remains a challenge to create comprehensive and sustainable strategies on migration, seriously addressing its national causes, without forgetting the impact outside the territorial limits.
“In particular, we reiterate our concern for the serious situation affecting Haiti, in the economic, social, political and humanitarian spheres, which hinders the development of its institutions and citizens,” Abinader said.
He stated that this multidimensional crisis in Haiti implies a disproportionate burden on the Dominican Republic, “especially because it generates social tensions and a strong budgetary pressure on the social services that my country is forced to provide to Haitian irregular migrants.”
Speaking at the plenary session of the 57th Meeting of Heads of State and Government of SICA, President Abinader also stressed that the institutional restructuring of the integration system cannot be postponed and urged this conclave to work to update the institutional architecture of SICA, being creative in the articulation of innovative and intersectoral strategies that give effective compliance with regional guidelines, policies and strategies.
Last year, foreign ministers of the region drafted the “Agenda for Institutional Strengthening and Legal Security” in favor of institutional strengthening. The President said that now is the time for the heads of government to move from paper to action.
“Dear all, as we all know, our SICA region faces multiple challenges, but it also possesses multiple tools to face them. The first is the persistent need to shore up regional norms and standards to guarantee equality, citizen participation and respect for fundamental rights in the member states,” he stressed.
He said that the cornerstone of the Central American Integration System (SICA) is to promote actions to create a region of peace, freedom, democracy and development.
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El Dia
Al Momento
28 June 2023