The Dominican Republic has held the pro tempore presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA) on three occasions, a mechanism that is made up of this country, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.
The pro tempore presidency of SICA, which rotates every six months, has been held by the Dominican Republic in 2014 and 2018 during the government periods of former President Danilo Medina and now, in 2022, with Luis Abinader as president. On previous occasions, the country, in its capacity as host, has taken this scenario to demand from the united nations to seek solutions that improve regional conditions at a social, economic and climatic level. Also to join efforts to end inequality in the countries of the region.
Yesterday, in the city of Santiago, in the north of the country, the LVI Meeting of Heads of State and Government of the SICA member countries began, which on this occasion is led by President Luis Abinader, with the Dominican Republic as headquarters.
Next, elCaribe reviews the positions assumed and the decisions adopted in this country at the times when it has held the pro tempore presidency of the mechanism.
June 27, 2014
In December 2013, the Republic of Panama handed over, for the first time, the pro tempore presidency to the Dominican Republic and the meeting of heads of state and government was held on June 27, 2014 in Punta Cana, in the east of the country.
During the meeting, which was led by then President Danilo Medina, the leaders of the eight participating nations agreed that the regional integration process should be strengthened and deepened, in addition to the effort they must make together to bring its benefits to the population of the isthmus.
In the midst of the decisions, they also highlighted the contribution to the advancement of projects in the five priority axes: economic integration, social integration, institutional strengthening, democratic security, and risk management and climate change.
When delivering his speech on that stage, Medina highlighted the common challenges of the region and expressed that the integration process of the countries was undergoing changes that were conducive to growth and development.
“We are determined to make our incorporation into SICA fruitful and significant for all,” Medina said then.
He also reviewed the progress made in strategic areas that are a priority for SICA, such as social and economic integration, democratic security, climate change and risk management in the event of natural disasters.
In that version, Danilo Medina also spoke about tasks that are still pending in the region such as equality, the promotion of the new Central American strategy for housing and human settlement, public health, the promotion of entrepreneurship, security mechanisms, and violence against women. , among other topics.
On June 30, 2018 in the DR again
In 2018 Panama again handed over the presidency to the Dominican Republic, in the last period of Medina’s government. On that occasion, the then president advocated, during the summit of heads of state and government, for the creation of a special fund to deal with disasters due to the vulnerability of the countries of the region to the dangers inherent to climate change. Danilo Medina stated that it was of vital importance that SICA follow up on this request, since it had also been exposed to the UN months before.
