Overview:
Haiti and the Dominican Republic will reopen their shared island’s airspace in Could with flights working in Cap-Haitien, restoring flights after greater than two years to ease journey, commerce and cross-border motion.
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Haiti and the Dominican Republic have agreed to reopen their airspace beginning in Could, permitting flights between their international locations for the primary time in additional than two years.
The choice, introduced April 17 in a joint statement launched by the Haitian authorities, clears the way in which for connections between three Dominican airports and one Cap-Haïtien in northern Haiti.
The international locations share the identical Caribbean island, known as Hispaniola.
In March 2024, the Dominican Republic closed its airspace with Haiti for industrial flights, citing the excessive ranges of insecurity within the neighboring nation after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. It solely permitted humanitarian flights.
Within the months earlier than the airspace closure, bilateral relations had been severely strained as a result of battle sparked by the development of an irrigation canal in Haiti fed by the Bloodbath River, which runs via each international locations. The Dominican Republic opposed the undertaking, arguing that the development would have unfavorable environmental impacts and hurt agricultural producers in each nations.
Friday’s determination adopted bilateral talks targeted totally on border management and surveillance, migration and commerce.
“This measure seeks to facilitate mobility, enhance financial ties and strengthen relations between each international locations,” in response to the joint assertion issued after a gathering between overseas ministers Roberto Álvarez of the Dominican Republic and Raina Forbin of Haiti.
The assertion additionally thanked the worldwide group, significantly the United Nations, for supporting Haitian authorities of their efforts to pacify the nation.