The Haitian president René Préval, the Dominican president Leonel Fernandez Reyna, nine university scholars (eight from the involved countries and one from Canada), and AEA met in the Dominican Republic last month to sign a cooperation agreement. Three previous meetings, since April 2006, had already founded a strong base for new cooperation between the two countries. These meetings' aims included promoting scientific knowledge, creating tools capable of supporting development plans in the region, identifying obstacles and taking part in the elaboration of public policy propositions.

 

Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. This coexistence has always been marked by tensions, violence and indifference. Unequal economic development has led to the migration of Haitians toward the Dominican Republic, increasing tensions in the border zone.

 

Aware of the importance of development and of creating friendly relations in order to reach sustainable goals, AEA initiated the project. Present in the two countries, AEA is financially contributing to the set-up of this cooperation by providing one million euros over a period of three years. These different agreements favor AEA's current and future bi-national projects focused on infants, child schooling and youth insertion. They will help guarantee the sustainability of these projects.