The Dominican Republic could welcome Czech tourists in the near future, according to the Czech Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, who visited Santo Domingo last week. Helena Bamasova said that the annual trade between the two countries is currently running at about US$7 million. She came with Edita Hrda, director of the Latin American department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ludek Pokorny, the secretary of the Ministry. In Santo Domingo, they met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Caonabo Javier Castillo, the Under Minister of Industry and Commerce, Frank Valdez, and the Minister for the Armed Forces, Lt. General Iván Hernández Oleaga. The Czech Republic is a major manufacturer of firearms. They also met the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Production, José Manuel Armenteros.