REMARKS BY PRIME MINISTER JEAN CHRÉTIEN ON THE OCCASION OF AN OFFICIAL DINNER GIVEN BY HIS EXCELLENCY RAFAEL HIPÓLITO MEJÍA DOMÍNGUEZ, PRESIDENT OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC AND MRS. ROSA GOMEZ MEJÍA

April 14, 2003
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

It is a great honour for Aline and me to be here with you in the Dominican Republic. I am privileged to be the first Canadian Prime Minister to make an official visit to your beautiful country. I am going to take back with me memories of the fine hospitality of our many Dominican friends.

The Dominican Republic warms the hearts of Canadians, especially during our long and cold winters when more than 300,000 Canadians come to enjoy your beautiful, welcoming country.

Canada and the Dominican Republic are good neighbours - we enjoy our visits and we share many common interests. We are trade and investment partners and we are allies in tackling issues of international concern.

My visit here has allowed both our governments to focus on our strong and productive bilateral ties. We are looking at ways to increase the trade and economic opportunities between our countries and explore new avenues for cooperation.

During our visit, President Mejía and I had the opportunity to follow-up on important discussions we began during his visit to Ottawa in November. Among the issues we explored was the proposed Canada-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement.

We both see impressive potential for the continued growth of trade between our two countries, and anticipate benefits for Dominicans and Canadians alike. I am pleased that these preliminary discussions are evolving well.

As neighbours and members of the gran familia of the Americas, Canada and the Dominican Republic share many hopes and we are willing to work together to address the challenges our hemisphere faces.

We hope the OAS efforts will help resolve the political impasse of your closest neighbour, Haiti. The international community has a responsibility to all the inhabitants of Hispaniola to help bring this about and Canada remains committed to our active role in the OAS efforts.

We must also follow-up on the balanced agenda of the Summit of the Americas, an agenda that commits us to creating greater prosperity, expanding economic opportunities, strengthening democracy, promoting good governance, and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. I am very pleased that we will be holding a Special Summit of the Americas this Fall, and I want to thank the Dominican Republic for its strong and continued support for the Summit agenda.

I was particularly gratified to receive today, on behalf of the Canadian people, an honorary degree which symbolizes, in yet another way, the close connections between our two countries. I am very grateful for this kind gesture.

Aline and I would like to now invite everyone to join us in a toast to our gracious hosts and the bright future of Dominican-Canadian relations.

Viva la Republica Dominicana! Viva el Canada! Salud!

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