Above: the National Palace in the Dominican Republic

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Dominican Republic’s government has appointed a commission to participate in talks with Haiti next week, it announced Thursday.

The talks were agreed upon at a meeting in Caracas in November. They will focus on the controversial citizenship ruling by the Dominican Republic’s constitutional court, although they will touch on other bilateral matters as well.

The commission, which was announced by Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo, will include Interior and Police Minister Jose Ramon Fadul, Industry and Commerce Minister Jose del Castillo, Deputy Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Trullols and Legal Consultant to the Executive, Cesar Pina Toribio.

The first formal meeting between the two sides will be held on Jan. 7 in the community of Ouanaminthe, located in the northeast of Haiti near the Dominican province of Dajabon, according to Montalvo.

The dialogue will cover issues including “immigration, commerce, the environment, natural resources, security and natural disasters,” the Minister said.

Observers from the European Union, Venezuela, the United Nations and CARICOM will be joining the two sides.

Montalvo said the Dominican government was coming to the negotiating table “to work hard and in good faith to hold talks in a frank, direct and sincere manner.”

He said the country sought to “successfully address issues that historically have been neglected and that both governments understand it is time to define for the benefit of both nations.”