Above: Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla, Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina (Photo: DICOM)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla met Thursday in Santo Domingo with Dominican Republic Prseident Danilo Medina.

The meeting, which lasted for over an hour, focused largely on the area of security, according to a statement from the National Palace.

The two sides agreed that they would establish a bilateral commission to exchange their experiences in crime fighting within 60 days.

Much of the crime in both areas has been caused by drug trafficking, Medina said, and the two sides will look to implement actions to curb drug trafficking.

The talks also expanded to trade and education; Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic have seen an increase in their balance of trade of around $500 million, according to Medina.

Medina pointed to the 1980s, when he said trade between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic exceeded $2 billion USD annually.