For the third consecutive occasion in the last two years, the Republic of Haiti had no official representation in a high -level regional event held in Dominican territory, despite the efforts of the Dominican Republic to maintain a solidarity diplomatic relationship and contribute to the solutions of the political, economic and social crisis that the neighboring nation is going through.
During the 20th American Regional Meeting (RRA 2025) of the International Labor Organization (ILO), held from October 1 to 3 in Punta Cana, the space reserved for the Haitian delegation remained empty during the three days of the event.
The meeting brought together representatives from 24 countries in the region, headed by the Dominican President Luis Abinader and the general director of the ILO, Gilbert F. Houngbo. While Labor Ministers, trade unionists and employers throughout America, debated transcendental issues in labor matters, Haitian absence showed again the diplomatic isolation that this country is going through in multilateral forums.
Cause
Luca Bormioli, director of the Department of Meetings, Documents and Official Relationships of the ILO, held El Nacional that the invitation to the event was delivered to Haiti. However, it presumes that the cause of non -assistance was for logistics reasons.
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Logistics and accreditation problems limited Haiti’s participation in regional events
He regretted that the delegates or diplomats did not attend, because it was a conducive event. Consequently, this also reveals the degree of institutional disconnection and the lack of effective leadership of that nation.
“The participation of the delegates of Haiti was marked by a logistics issue. In addition, there is a very specific accreditation system that must be carried out in advance to guarantee their assistance. We hope that they can participate in another event, since they need it,” he said at the end of the event.
Other events
This situation adds to other recent episodes. In March 2024, Haiti was also absent in the annual meetings of the assemblies of governors of the Inter -American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Invest, also held in Punta Cana, with the participation of more than 40 governors in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Paradoxically, the president of the IDB, Ilan Goldfajn, had then announced the reactivation of the dialogue window with Haiti and the commitment to channel donations for more than 160 million dollars in priority areas such as food distribution, health and education. Even so, no Haitian delegation was presented.
Likewise, Haiti also did not participate in the swear ceremony of the second term of President Luis Abinader, held in August 2024. On that occasion, the Dominican Foreign Ministry assured that any official Haitian flight request would have been immediately authorized, despite the closing of the bilateral airspace for commercial flights for security reasons.
Expectation
Looking ahead, the attention is going to central in the next international event that will take place in the country: the X Business Summit of the Americas, which the Dominican Republic and the Inter -American Development Bank (IDB) will coorganize on December 3 and 4 in Punta Cana.
In that sense, will Haiti leave his empty chair again, in a context where crucial issues for the region will be discussed, such as investment, safety and sustainable development?
