• The virtual meeting followed up the progress since the first ministerial summit, that Panama convened in August 2021, to address the phenomenon of irregular migration on the continent.
• Panama, as a founding member of the Alliance for Development in Democracy, reiterated the importance that Haiti be able to hold elections this year and ensure stability for the integral and sustainable development of the sister country.
Panama, January 21 (2021).- Foreign Minister Erika Mouynes participated in the ministerial summit convened by the Government of Canada to address the security situation in Haiti, its democratic challenges and the consequences of irregular migration in the American continent.
"Today's meeting is a firm step that, together and in coordination, leads us towards a more peaceful and safer Haiti for its citizens," said the minister during the meeting opened by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which was attended by participation of the Haitian Prime Minister, Ariel Henry.
As the current president of the Central American Integration System (SICA), Panama has placed Haiti among the priorities of the regional agenda, along with the goal of "unlocking" economic growth and "promoting the development of local markets for goods and services, the fight against poverty and inequality, the protection of natural resources, the prevention and management of disasters and the fight against organized crime and democratic security”, added the Panamanian minister.
The head of Panamanian diplomacy invited the other countries to get involved and share responsibilities to "work together, support the efforts of the Haitian government and address this situation in a comprehensive manner."
On August 11, Panama convened the first ministerial meeting to address this growing phenomenon, with the participation of ten countries in the region. That meeting has generated other technical meetings, involving more countries and broadening the discussion on the factors that encourage the irregularity of the migratory phenomenon, which begin to provide answers to the needs of Haiti.
In 2020, some 8,000 people crossed the “Darién Gap” irregularly, a record that exceeded 130,000 in 2021, 80% of them Haitians.
The foreign ministers of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Japan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines participated in the meeting . Also represented were the European Union, the United Nations (UN), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the International Organization of Migrations (IOM) and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).