Caribbean immigration and consular officials are today concluding
two-day regional consultations in the Haitian capital on visa
policy and visa security measures.

Participants from the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Haiti,
Jamaica and Turks and Caicos are discussing regional cooperation in
tackling migration management and visa security challenges facing
the Caribbean.  The meeting includes experts from CARICOM,
Canada and the United States who are sharing their experience and
presenting best international practices in visa policy and
issuing.

The delegations are also discussing the latest visa physical
security measures and the potential of newly emerging technologies
such as e-Visa and enhanced data sharing systems.

The participants have highlighted the importance of closer
cooperation between national immigration services and visa-issuing
missions overseas.

"Given the complexity of current global challenges, no single
agency is able to ensure the security of national borders," said
Pierre Guignard, Political Director of the Haitian Ministry of
Interior.  "Enhanced inter-agency cooperation is vital,
especially good coordination between immigration services and
foreign ministries that handle visa issuance abroad."

The delegations have also noted the continued importance of
expanding a cross-border dialogue and information exchange on
migration, visa and border security matters. 

"These IOM-initiated multilateral meetings are yet another
constructive step in consolidating cross-border cooperation between
Haiti and the Dominican Republic," said Jose Serulle Ramia,
Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Port-au-Prince.

The meeting is part of cross-border seminars addressing
migration and border security issues in the Caribbean organized by
IOM's Capacity Building in Migration Management (CBMM) programme in
Haiti, funded by the Canadian Foreign Ministry's Stabilization and
Reconstruction Task Force (START).

The first regional consultations on "Tackling Travel Document
Fraud: Challenges and Responses" took place in Haiti last
December.  Participants adopted a roadmap for future meetings,
study visits and other activities that further regional cooperation
between immigration agencies on topics of common interest and
concern.

For further information, please contact:

Erik Slavenas

IOM Port-au-Prince

Tel: +509.245.5153

E-mail: "mailto:eslavenas@iom.int">eslavenas@iom.int