Dominican Republic-Jamaica celebrate High Level Dialogue | The USA Print

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic and the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Jamaica recently organized an important intersectoral meeting called “High Level Dialogue on Trade and Investment Dominican Republic-Jamaica”, in which prominent representatives of the government and the private sector of both countries participated, with the aim of promoting conversations to strengthen and increase trade and investment between both nations.

The meeting was led by the Vice Minister of Economic Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Hugo Rivera, representing Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez; the Minister of Industry, Investment and Trade of Jamaica, Senator Aubyn Hill; the Dominican ambassador in Kingston, Angie Martínez; the Executive Director of ProDominicana, Biviana Riveiro; the President of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Ms. Shullette Cox; the President of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ), Mr. Metry Seaga; the Executive Director of PSOJ, Mrs. Imega Breese; and the president of the Jamaican Chamber of Commerce in the DR, Eng. Juan José Melo.

In the opening remarks, the Vice Minister of Economic Affairs, Ambassador Hugo Rivera, He stressed the importance of strengthening trade relations between the two countries and expressed his commitment to work together with Senator Hill to promote greater growth and economic development in both nations.

Both leaders expressed their confidence that the discussions will lead to important progress in the near future. For his part, Senator Aubyn Hill highlighted the potential of the Dominican Republic as an attractive market for Jamaican companies and stressed the need to explore new areas of economic cooperation to boost growth in both countries. Likewise, he assured that the Dominican Republic offers great opportunities for the Jamaican business class.

The Dominican ambassador to Jamaica, Ms. Angie Martínez, valued the initiative as a key opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations and increase economic cooperation between two nations that share historical and cultural ties. “We are called to be natural allies, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica are sister countries that stand side by side, we must look beyond our borders and take advantage of the vast opportunities that exist within our respective economies. Since I began my term in Jamaica, I have expressed my firm commitment to developing a more mutually beneficial relationship, one that is reciprocal and balanced. I am committed to establishing a new commercial era between the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.”

Likewise, the career diplomat expressed “as part of the mandate of the Government of His Excellency Mr. Luis Abinader, President of the Dominican Republic, and our Foreign Minister, the Honorable Roberto Álvarez, to renew the relationship with the Caribbean, especially with Jamaica, It is essential for us to find ways to strengthen commercial relations and friendship ties with this sister country and to ensure that all available opportunities are taken advantage of: commercial, political, cultural, academic. Our bilateral trade has untapped potential. From the Embassy of the Dominican Republic we are taking concrete steps to achieve it.”

The event had the participation of important Dominican authorities who spoke on issues of trade, investment, economy, logistics, among others. In this sense, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development (MEPYD), Ms. Olaya Dotel, explained to those present the opportunities for development cooperation between the two countries and made a call to take advantage of the mutual benefits offered by the two Caribbean nations. Next, Mr. Martín Francos, General Director of Public Investment at the MEPYD, offered a detailed perspective on the evolution of growth and economic stability in the country.

From Prodominicana, its Director of Investment, Mr. Marcial Smester presented a presentation to the delegation of Jamaican businessmen and authorities on the facilities for trade and investment in the Dominican Republic: commitment to the future and the establishment of the Single Investment Window . Likewise, success stories were presented to those present; In this sense, from the General Directorate of Customs (DGA), Mr. Johannes Kelner, Deputy Director General of the entity presented the project “24-hour Dispatch and Single Window for Foreign Trade”, a program for which he is responsible.

From the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Investment and MSMEs of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Vladimir Hernández, Director of Commercial Integration, explained to the delegation of Jamaican businessmen and authorities the operation of the exception regime to Dominican Law no. 173-63 on import agents established by the CARICOM-DR treaty. On this same subject, Ms. Karla Gonzále Kasse, Technical Coordinator of the International Department of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic, also participated, who made a presentation on the registration system of distribution contracts within the framework of this Law; as well as the Director of NEX Consulting, Mrs. Taiana Mora, who made a presentation to those present from a perspective of the commercial practice of Law No. 173.

The High Level Dialogue on Trade and Investment was carried out within the framework of an official mission of the Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce of Jamaica, Mr. Aubyn Hill, who visited the country together with a large delegation of authorities and 30 major Jamaican companies. The Jamaican delegation exhausted for a week a commercial and investment agenda that allowed them to learn about the business environment in the Dominican Republic; as well as explore opportunities in the country for those companies that seek to expand their operations in the national territory or make investments.

Ambassador Angie Martínez pointed out that “this visit by the Jamaican delegation, headed by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment of Jamaica, Senator Aubyn Hill, opens up important possibilities for investment, trade and synergies for economic collaboration with Jamaica; deepening bilateral trade and investment with our second most important trading partner in the Caribbean. The growing mutual interest of the most important commercial actors of both the Dominican Republic and Jamaica is evident; This was confirmed by the fact that the official agenda for the First Dominican Week in Jamaica began with a productive meeting between the highest president of Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, government authorities of the Dominican Republic and high-profile Dominican businessmen. , who talked about how to continue strengthening and deepening trade and investment relations between both countries.