Santo Domingo.– The Dominican president, Luis Abinaderexpressed this Friday its intention to normalize “to the extent possible” the relationship with neighboring Haiti, at a low point for almost a year due to the construction by Haiti of a canal on the border Massacre River or Dajabón.
“Our intention is to try to normalize, as far as possible, relations, but always respecting and taking care of the security of the Dominican Republic,” said Abinader in a press conference at the headquarters of the Dominican Presidency with the US Secretary of State.., Antony Blinken, who is making an official visit to the country, one day after his trip to Haiti.
But everything will depend, he said, on how Haitians “can advance their internal security” amid the current crisis in that nation, where gangs control much of Port-au-Prince and other areas of the country.
The Haitian crisis and the relationship between that country and the Dominican Republic were discussed by Abinader and Blinken in the meeting they held before their appearance before the press.
In his statement, the Dominican leader said that the situation in Haiti has increased migratory pressure towards the Dominican Republic, affecting public services and generating risks for the country’s security.
This pressure is reflected in the school system, where 6.5% of students, some 147,000, are of Haitian nationality, said Abinader, who on September 14 of last year ordered, among other measures, the closure of the air, sea and land borders with Haiti in protest of the construction of the canal, which he described as “foolish.”
In addition, in public hospitals, 14% of hospitalizations and 34% of births are of undocumented Haitian immigrants.
“This does not happen in any health system in the world,” he said.
