President Luis Abinader clarified yesterday that the country will not invest funds in the construction of hospitals in Haiti, as it was involved in a bilateral agreement disclosed the day before. “What the Dominican Republic will do and it is important to clarify this is to be a channel and facilitator of this aid,” Abinader told a news conference at the National Palace.
The head of state assured that next week will begin meetings with the ambassadors of the countries most closely linked to Haiti, including Canada, the United States, France and Germany, to discuss the financing of these two hospitals.
The government released a joint statement at a ceremony at the National Palace on Tuesday during a meeting Abinader with his Haitian counterpart, Jovenel Moise, that took place last Sunday during a tour of the southern border.
In this nine-point statement, it states that “with the cooperation of the international community, which has shown its readiness to fund hospitals in Haiti, both leaders agree to cooperate in the construction of general hospitals in Haiti, located where the government considers the country. that it is adequate to reduce the intensive use of Dominican hospitals ”.
Abinader himself said in November last year that his country could not fund the large number of Haitian women giving birth in Dominican hospitals, a statement that caused unrest in Port-au-Prince.
The leaders also pledged to collaborate in the process of identifying and registering Haitians living on Dominican territory in the Haitian civil registry. In addition, the start of a negotiation process for the definition of maritime borders between the two countries and the commitment of both sides to monitor the border to combat illegal migration, trafficking in human beings, arms trafficking, drug trafficking and animal theft, and the strengthening of cooperation in the field of energy, agricultural and industrial production and the continuation of negotiations aimed at reaching a trade agreement.
Favorable reactions
Yesterday, several political actors and former Dominican officials began to express their views on the issue, with the majority in favor of such approaches.
Among those who supported the initiative is former Foreign Minister Danilo Medina, Andrés Navarro: “I see with great satisfaction the step taken by the Dominican government in trying to strengthen relations with Haiti and this agreement is very positive in seeking to formalize a new attempt to formalize a bilateral way of working with the Haitian government, “he told Listín Dairio.
A member of the political committee of the opposition Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) explained that all points are “very important”, but that the main one is the first to establish that both nations are willing to work on the process of identifying and registering the Haitian civil registry. to all Haitian citizens on Dominican territory. “When I was chancellor, especially during the regularization, I made a great effort, one of the requirements that those who were to adhere to the plan had to present. The national regularization was a documentation of their country and we managed to get their embassy to grant them “, the former official explained.
Yesterday, an attempt was made to contact former Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas, but he did not provide any statement.
instituţionalitate
While the Progressive National Force (FNP) described the joint statement as “very positive and promising”, they warned government authorities to follow the electoral process in the Republic of Haiti. “We also consider the interest expressed by the Presidential Declaration on the need for the Haitian people and their leaders to strengthen the institutional framework of the democratic state and the rule of law in Haiti to be very valid, provided that the Dominican Republic maintains a prudent distance from this complex and contentious situation. ”. he said in a statement.
While the president of the Christian Social Reform Party (PRSC), Federico Antún, said that the issues agreed between the two leaders correspond to the recommendations that the PRSC made public at various times, so he understands that this agreement is a step forward “for that this is the beginning of the implementation of a public policy regarding the neighboring country ”.