The foreign ministers of Haiti and the Dominican Republic met in Santo Domingo on Thursday (September 29) to strengthen bilateral relations between the two neighbours which were strained after migrant deportations from the Dominican Republic a year ago.
Last year, reportedly thousands of Haitians were sent back across the border after Dominican officials began implementing a controversial immigration programme against undocumented migrants, many of whom were from Haiti.
Many of those who were deported or fled fearing persecution were reportedly Dominican born with Haitian descent, but did not have the necessary documents to prove their status.
Media reported that Haiti retaliated by getting tough on Dominican goods crossing the border into the Haitian market. But Foreign Minister Pierrot Delienne denied the claims.
“There isn’t a ban and for the Foreign Minister (Vargas) and I, this has been the third time in a month that we have seen each other, in Port au Prince, New York and here. That is to say that there is personal dialogue and cooperation between us two and the cooperation between our two countries is very formal, interesting and we’re all working to facilitate business, to facilitate migration and to facilitate all that is possible between two countries with a willingness to work together. There is no problem between us,” he said.
Seeking to ease tensions, the foreign ministers have met three times in the space of a month ahead of a diplomatic solution which would see Haitians properly documented to allow for migration to the Dominican Republic as well as support greater economic flows between the two countries.
“This is part of the documentation programme which is nearing its conclusion. This is part of the great programme which is within the law and framed by regulations which are established for this. It is a process which we have agreed to with the Haitian Foreign Ministry and at the end of the month there will be 112,000 passport folders issued as was established in the joint statement,” said the Foreign Minister of the Dominican Republic, Miguel Vargas.
The Dominican Republic, which has a population of about 10 million, has long complained of illegal migration of Haitians, even as it benefits from a steady source of cheap labour for construction, agriculture and domestic work.
Although also blighted by high levels of poverty, the Dominican Republic has been one of the prime sources of emigration out of Haiti.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016