Santo Domingo, June 20 (Xinhua-RHC) -- Visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, discussed trade on Thursday, according to reports from Santo Domingo.
The two talked for more than an hour, before making a joint declaration to the press highlighting a bilateral relationship of mutual respect, said El Nuevo Diario.
Medina noted that a free trade agreement between the two sides had won benefits for his country, but also expressed concern about the sustainability of trade with the U.S. He also noted that energy security was also on the agenda, given its impact on the national budget and importance for development.
He thanked the United States for its support in installing a national emergency number in the Dominican Republic. Biden said the United States is willing to help expand the emergency system nationwide.
He also appreciated the Dominican government's spending in education and the passage of the Naturalization Law, aimed at making it easier for children born of Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic to gain citizenship.
Biden's visit marks the first to the Caribbean country by a top U.S. official in more than 50 years. He arrived in Santo Domingo late Wednesday, as part of a three-nation Latin America tour that took him earlier in the week to Brazil and Colombia.
