The Dominican Republic has hired MWW for "reputation-building services" and to strengthen the image of the state and "dissemination of its Alien Regularization Plan," which has raised concerns over the treatment of migrant Haitian workers living there.
The independent PR firm is handling media relations and developing "rapid response protocols" on behalf of the DR, which shares the island of Hispaniola with impoverished Haiti.
MWW, which also does media training for DR government officials, will rally DR supporters in the business and public sectors.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is among critics of the DR's treatment of Haitians, has called for a tourism boycott of the country.
Jose Tomas Perez, DR's ambassador to the US, has criticized de Blasio's position.
In a letter to the mayor, Perez wrote that "the call to promote a boycott of Dominican tourism not only represents a wanton tort against a friendly nation and against Dominicans who voted for you to become mayor of New York, but also an act of political intolerance and hypocrisy."
He also said no country does more for Haiti than the DR.
Dominican Today (Aug. 6) reports the DR government-assisted volunary return of undocumented foreigners program has helped 878 Haitian migrants. More than 65,000 Haitians have left the DR on their own.
In July, Squire Patton Boggs signed a five-year $2.7M government relations agreement with the DR.
FGS Global has updated its public diplomacy and communications contract with the embassy of the United Arab Emirates, showing $5.6M in fees through 2006.
Impact Management Group, which is headed by Republican operative Terry Benham, works to build US support for Ukraine.
Rational 360 has ironed out its six-month $1.2M contract with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to position it as a “sophisticated global investment fund.”
APCO has signed on to promote this month’s visit of Ahmed Al Khateeb, head of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism, to the US.
The Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Tourism has signed on Montieth & Co. for strategic communications and media relations duties as chaos grips neighboring Haiti.
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