Above: Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe and Dominican Republic Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo (Photo: OPDR)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

High-level bilateral talks between the Dominican Republic and Haiti originally scheduled for Thursday have been postponed until April 8, the Dominican Republic announced Monday.

The meeting had been scheduled to take place in the Haitian city of Jacmel.

In a statement, the Dominican Republic said “the technical teams of both countries have requested to extend the deadline to allow time to mature and prepare agreements on trade, health, tourism and migration.”

The Dominican Republic’s government said that teams from both sides would work together on proposals over the next two weeks to advance “all the work possible with an eye toward the [April] 8 meeting.”

Dominican Republic Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo, who has been leading the Dominican side in the monthly bilateral talks, said he had accepted the request for postponement.

“Remember that this is an unprecedented event in the history of both countries,” he said Monday. “We have established a constructive dialogue on important issues, seeking to provide real and lasting solutions to our people’s solutions, always on the basis of mutual respect for sovereignty.”

Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe is leading the Haitian commission in the bilateral dialogue.