President Luis Abinader He guaranteed this Wednesday that the Dominican Republic is a safe bet for investment, after listing its exemplary handling of the pandemic in the region, double-digit growth rates, the possibility of investment in leading sectors for the future and with legal certainty.
Speaking as a guest speaker and guest of honor of the American Chamber of Commerce AMCHAM, he also highlighted that the country has instruments of cooperation and incentives for economic activity, which generates jobs for which it is willing to be a leader and a reference in growth , as well as in development.
“Invest, visit us, support and bet on this country. It is a safe bet. I guarantee it ”, exalted the ruler.
He gave as an example of the country’s benefits for investment in the country, that we live in one of the most stable democracies, with a fight against corruption.
He explained that the post-pandemic paradigm is still under construction, but that there are already some signs of structural changes that impact the way in which goods and services are produced, distributed and consumed.
He stressed that by the end of this year the Dominican economy will have recovered all the jobs lost during COVID-19, and managed to grow by 11%, thus denying the full effect of the pandemic.
He said that this is the equivalent of growing at a rate of 4% during the pandemic.
As part of the actions against COVID, it reported that they have fully vaccinated 64.8% of the target population, which has allowed reducing social distancing measures and relaunching the economy, particularly tourism.
The Head of State considered that AMCHAM is an important reference and collaborator of the Government, and that they work together to improve the business climate, take advantage of “nearshoring” and to strengthen the position of the Dominican Republic as the commercial and logistics hub of the Caribbean.
Fight against corruption
He cited the measurement of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), in 2020 where it indicates that the country went from being classified as a “weak democracy” to being classified as a “medium performance democracy”, for the first time since the beginning of the century.
He added that the Dominican Republic was, by far, the country in the region that increased its score the most in the Capacity to Combat Corruption Index (CCC), corresponding to the year 2021.
He insisted that for the first time in the history of the country, the Public Ministry is independent from political power, one of the most significant demands of social movements and civil society.
In the actions for transparency, he mentioned the creation of a Regulatory Compliance Program for Public Procurement and Monitoring Committees; the approval of a General Plan for the Reform and Modernization of the Public Administration.
Also, more recently, the enactment of the new Customs Law and the Law for Regulatory Improvement and Simplification of Procedures.
Abinader said that they are also working on a bill that will modify the Office of the Comptroller of the Republic to make it more effective.
Likewise, he added, they work with experts and friendly governments such as the United States to reform and modernize the National Police.
Stable democracy
“Our country has one of the most stable democracies with the highest economic growth in the region,” said President Abinader.
He said that this occurs in a context of political, economic, social and cultural upheaval for Latin America and the Caribbean, where part of the region is moving away from the stability it had achieved since the late 1990s.
In areas where the region stood out, such as electoral processes and political pluralism, as well as respect for civil liberties, there has been a regression with alarming authoritarian tendencies.
“The crisis of democracy has worsened with COVID -19. In many cases, the state of emergency during the crisis allowed repressive regimes and populist leaders to reduce levels of transparency, promote misleading or deliberately false information and restricted criticism of the handling of the pandemic, “he said.
However, he affirmed, in the midst of this upheaval, the Dominican Republic has maintained democratic stability, respect for civil rights and the path of economic progress.
Foreign investment
President Abinader stressed that another immediate priority for the government is to boost foreign direct investment and exports, a goal even before the pandemic.
“We hope that this year we will attract another 3 billion dollars in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Last year, the US was the source of 30% of the FDI in the Dominican Republic, ”he indicated.
He expressed that they are working to attract more investment from the US, after indicating that an increase in Dominican exports to that nation also increases jobs.
In order to strengthen relations with the US, he said that together with Costa Rica and Panama, they have promoted the “Alliance for Development in Democracy”, with three areas of action: politics, cooperation and the economy.
He announced that this coming weekend they will meet in Puerto Plata to follow up on the work and promote new initiatives.
“It should be noted that the total trade with the United States of our three economies would place us, if we were a single country, as the third partner of the United States, with more than 86,000 million dollars in the last two and a half years. This makes our alliance a significant event in the region ”, he highlighted.
Relations with the USA
President Abinader asserted that the relationship with the United States is especially strategic for the country.
“Our government and whoever speaks to them, we have shown the will and willingness to strengthen and enhance them,” he said.
As an example of these relationships, he cited President Joe Biden’s invitation to his government to participate with a starring role in the Summit for Democracy to be held tomorrow and the day after.
It meant that in line with the US intention to review its supply chain for strategic sectors, the government is creating the conditions so that companies that seek to produce closer to the United States can do so from the Dominican territory.
He believes that out of the sectors identified by President Biden’s “100-Day Supply Chain Review” report, there are opportunities for the country, among many others in: large-capacity batteries, personal protective equipment and medical products.
He recalled that in line with that strategy, the government issued a decree, 621-12, which instructs the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, the Ministry of Foreign Relations, and the National Competitiveness Council to prepare a report in 90 days, to Identify the opportunities and challenges that have arisen for the Dominican Republic as a result of the reconfiguration of the global supply and value chains.
Likewise, the use of geographic proximity (nearshoring), in consultation with the private sector, which will be ready in the coming days.
He emphasized that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce has been meeting for a long time with US companies that currently have their production in Asia, but that are interested in taking advantage of the DR-CAFTA, the memorandum of understanding and the country’s proximity to States. United.
Fastest growing economy
For his part, AMCHAMDR executive vice president, William Malamud, said that despite the challenges generated by the pandemic, the economy of the Dominican Republic is the fastest growing in the hemisphere, with record exports, a tourism sector on the way to establish a new record and increase in foreign investment.
“It has been immensely gratifying for our chamber to work hand in hand with an administration that shares the same priorities. Above all, democracy and the rule of law, ”said Malamud.
Meanwhile, the president of AMCHAMDR, Roberto Herrera, agreed to point to the great growth opportunities that the country presents, thanks to the stability and predictability that it treasures, as shown by the main international indicators.
“If we link public-private collaboration with the bilateral relationship that we have been cultivating with the United States, we can turn the next decade into a true cycle of growth and modernization for our country. Including, of course, achieving the creation of the 600,000 new jobs that President Abinader points out as a realistic goal for the private sector, ”said Herrera.
He stated that AMCHAMDR opens the doors to this growth process in partnership with the public sector, as a result of which important initiatives have emerged, such as the Logistics, Nearshoring, Bureaucracy 0 and Digital Transformation tables that are co-led by the Ministry of the Presidency and AMCHAMDR; and among whose achievements are the advances in the 24-hour Customs Clearance service and the regulation of teleworking.
The president of the Senate, Eduardo Estrella; the ministers of the Presidency, Lisandro Macarrulla; of Foreign Relations, Roberto Álvarez; of Industry, Commerce and Mipymes, Víctor -Ito- Bisonó and Labor, Luis Miguel de Camps and the General Director of Customs, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón.
At the end of the activity, President Abinader participated in a dialogue in which he responded to concerns about the independence of the public prosecutor’s office, digital transformation, gender and inclusion, renewable energies and the electricity pact, which were raised by AMCHAMDR.
