On March 25, 2023, General Assembly of the plenary session of the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government in the Dominican Foreign Ministry building in Santo Domingo. PHOTO AFP SANTO DOMINGO - Leaders at the Ibero-American Summit in the Dominican Republic discussed the need to address Haiti's deepening humanitarian crisis while vowing to cooperate on environmental issues.
Summit leader Andres Allamand told reporters that the issue of Haiti has become an extremely important issue for the Ibero-American community.
The rights groups that control most of the country say the Caribbean state is facing a worsening crisis due to the gangs that control most of the country.
Gustavo Petro, Colombian President, said he was considering going to Haiti to assess the most constructive role for Colombia there.
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The leaders pledged to address issues such as the loss of biodiversity, pollution, soil degradation, and scarcity of water resources. They said they would strengthen regional cooperation on information security.
The meeting of presidents and representatives from 22 countries comes at a time when the region is grappling with high inflation and global concerns about the financial sector after the failure of US regional banks Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank this month.
With so much speculative play and so much of the financial sector concentrated, we should already understand that the current financial system doesn't need anymore help. Alberto Fernandez, Argentina's president, said that we must change it.
The leaders said there was a need for regional collaboration on migration as thousands of people flee Latin American countries to the US border due to economic hardship, rising violence and other challenges.
READ MORE: UN: In Haiti, half million need children are in need of up to half million in 2 years.
Today, migration management constitutes one of the great regional challenges, said Gabriel Boric, Chilean president. There is no infallible recipe and any solution requires working together with countries of origin, transit and destination. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro did not attend after testing positive for COVID - 19, although he has since been negative twice, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said.
The summit would have marked Maduro's first foreign trip this year.