The former president of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernández said this Saturday in Puerto Rico that the inflation and the lack of liquidity cause an economic threat to progress, they also represent an opportunity for growth.
“The inflation and the lack of liquidity look like threats to the progress and prosperity of our peoples, but it can represent an opportunity,” Fernández said in a talk by the United Center of Retailers (CUD) of Puerto Rico held at a hotel on the island, according to a release.
This opportunity for economic growth for both Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, Fernandez said, will not be able to do it in isolation or by integrating their economy with the United States and Latin America.
Given this, he stressed the importance of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic integrating into global economies through the development of technologies, tourism and education, pointing out the proximity of both territories to the United States as a great opportunity to discover new niches.
“The rivalry between the United States and China, the issue of tariffs, the Taiwan Strait and the Russia-Ukraine conflict create opportunities for our islands,” Fernandez said.
“For example, the relocation of North American companies may represent opportunities for us to enter new industries,” he said.
During his presentation, Fernández promoted a strategic alliance between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, highlighting the knowledge economy, offering as examples the aeronautical industry, molecular development centers, schools specializing in science and mathematics, among others.
“We went from the agricultural economy to the industrial one, from the industrial economy to the service economy. For example, we in the tourism sector now have aircraft traffic from Israel, from London. Tourism connects us to the world, creating new opportunities” Fernandez mentioned.
For his part, the president of the CUD, Jesús Vázquez Rivera, highlighted the importance of entities such as the one he represents “moving the conversation towards globalization and creating opportunities for thousands of small and medium-sized companies to be part of this transformation.”
Fernández, 68 years old, presided over the Dominican Republic on 3 occasions: (1996-2000), (2004-2008) and (2009-2012), exercising a transformative mandate and promoting a constitutional reform for the consolidation of a social and democratic State of Law, as reported in the statement.
It promoted economic growth, sustainable development, the application of social policies aimed at reducing poverty and managed to stimulate a notable development in the infrastructure of the neighboring country. EFE
