Ticket to Ride

What direction is the Dominican Republic’s foreign policy taking it?

The Chancellery should play a more active role when it comes to management, not only encouraging bilateral political dialogue with different nations and regions, but also contributing through cooperation, commerce, and investment, which are fundamental objectives of the chancellery. One of the first schemes we implemented was in the Netherlands and its territories in the Caribbean such as Aruba, Curacao, and Saint Martin. We have also negotiated an agreement to promote commerce with Haiti, which has been making progress. Other countries have also taken an interest in establishing preferential agreements with us such as Cuba, Chile, Paraguay, and Colombia. In the first quarter of 2017, we will have a mission from the Cuban government that will come to the country to implement this agreement as quickly as possible. We have also initiated talks with Chile and Paraguay.

An agreement was recently signed between the US, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic to modernize the border. What will the impact of this be?

This project is important, and the impact will be significant for the development of the border and the living standards of citizens. Creating conditions for the development of bi-national companies will create employment and an industrial barrier to migration. In December 2016, we signed an agreement in Laredo, Texas, which was attended by the US.

What effects will the air transport pre-authorization agreement for travelers from the US have?

We signed an agreement in November 2016 with the US for immigration and customs pre-checking, which will have a significant influence on tourism and the country’s economy. This means we are the first Spanish-speaking country to enjoy this facility, and the seventh country worldwide. We started with the airport of Punta Cana, which fulfilled all the requirements and had requested participation at the beginning of the initiative. This could be established in other airports of the country that request it and meet the requirements. Every person who leaves to the US from Punta Cana will have their papers in order for customs and immigration, which also makes things easier for the traveler. We will also be able to fly to airports that we previously had no access to, including 65 additional cities.

What new efforts are being made to attract investment and boost the country’s image abroad?

We have been holding numerous bilateral meetings such as the EU CELAC summit, where we implemented bilateral unions with nearly all the countries that attended. Additionally, we created the right conditions to focus on different aspects of cooperation, investment, commerce, and tourism. It was a privileged scenario for such negotiations. We also had different encounters in the UN General Assembly that were favorable to the promotion of tourism, commerce, investment, and cooperation, not to mention CELAC and Russia. Furthermore, our commercial offices inside our embassies and consulates around the world are essential to these objectives.

What is the role of the Dominican Republic in the region, and what actions are being carried out to increase its sphere of influence?

2016 was our turn to temporarily take on the presidency of CELAC. With the 23 countries that form Latin America and the Caribbean, we made a joint effort to reinforce ourselves regionally and with Europe, Russia, and China. They are favorable for regional economic growth.

What is your vision for the economic future of the country?

We need to continue strengthening our political security. If we could bring more investment, we would be able to continue this sustainable development. Our treaties have contributed to our strengthening in commerce, and today we can see this reflected in a commercial balance of USD11.34 billion with the US, our largest commercial partner. Even though it was difficult at first, we have made significant progress.