Dominican Republic to reopen its border to essential trade but not Haitians
Also: Dominican Republic intensifies Haiti border shutdown over canal row (Reuters)
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Source: Associated Press
Dominican Republic to reopen its border to essential trade but not Haitians
Updated 6:47 PM EDT, October 9, 2023
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Dominican Republic government said Monday it will temporarily allow trade of essential products, including food and medications, on its border with Haiti. But it said it will maintain a ban on the entry of Haitian citizens amid a dispute over the construction of a canal targeting a river that runs through both countries.
The measure will come into force on Wednesday starting at 8:00 a.m. in four border provinces in an effort to facilitate the trade of products aimed especially at children, the government said in a statement.
The announcement comes weeks after the Dominican Republic announced the closure of all land, air and sea borders with Haiti in a dispute about construction of a canal on Haitian soil that would divert waters from the Massacre River in order to alleviate a drought that affects the Haitian Maribaroux plain.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/haiti-dominican-republic-2b7078c8e7f46d1763c683796fee542e
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Source: Reuters
Dominican Republic intensifies Haiti border shutdown over canal row
Reuters
October 9, 2023 9:04 PM EDT Updated 12 hours ago
Oct 9 (Reuters) - The Dominican Republic announced new measures to strengthen control at its border with Haiti, including an indefinite extension of the border shutdown it enacted last month plus boosting military forces as well as a new exports ban.
The Dominican Republic sealed its border with Haiti last month citing the construction of a canal from the Massacre River, which straddles the border between the two countries, arguing this violated a treaty.
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Under the new measures, exports of electronics, cement and other building materials will be banned to prevent construction of structures that threaten the river or related resources.
The government said it would also launch "provisional commercial corridors" in border provinces to facilitate trade, under strict military controls, of Dominican products such as food and medicine.
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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/dominican-republic-intensifies-haiti-border-shutdown-over-canal-row-2023-10-09/
Alternate non-paywalled link: https://archive.li/6gVru