DR Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez.
SANTO DOMINGO, DR--Dominican Republic (DR) Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez was the keynote speaker for the first of a series of online talks on relations between the DR and Italy, organised by the Dominican-Italian Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy of Italy in the DR. The name of the talk was: “Foreign and Commercial Policy of the Dominican Republic in the Current Economic Context Conditioned by COVID-19”.
The Chamber of Commerce initiative is part of a public and private sector effort to restore relations. Celso Marranzini is the president of the Chamber of Commerce.
During his presentation, Alvarez highlighted DR foreign policy’s new priorities, the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI), established agreements and the challenges brought about by the pandemic.
“Our president has stressed the government’s commitment to the well-being of citizens, but he has also pointed out that this can only be achieved in the context of access to the markets of our traditional trading partners, multilateralism and international cooperation,” said the foreign minister.
Alvarez said DR trade with Italy is mostly in ferronickel, cocoa, gold and medical devices. He said there is great potential for expanded sales in the rum market, given that Italy has been increasing its global imports every year. Similarly, he noted that the Italian private sector is an important FDI source in the country. According to data from the Central Bank, US $57 million was invested by Italy in 2019 alone.
Regarding the tourism sector, he said in 2019 Italy ranked sixth of European countries in numbers of tourists, with 93,000 visitors, after France, Russia, Germany, Spain and England. Likewise, he emphasised that DR President Luis Rodolfo Abinader has called for all hotels to open to tourists as of October 1.
Also speaking during the conference, Italian Ambassador to the DR, Andrea Canepari recognised the important diplomatic and commercial ties and emphasised Italy’s interest in relaunching economic exchange with the country. There are no direct flights connecting Italy and the DR and Dominicanos are banned from visiting Italy due to the COVID-19 virus. An Italian tourist was case number one for the DR in March.
He stressed that the country has benefited mainly from Italian high technology applied to the agricultural and craft industries in terms of cooperation. He mentioned the many scholarships that have benefited Dominicano professionals over the years. ~ dr1 ~
