The Listín Diario reported that President Leonel Fernández will travel abroad several times this year to promote trade, travel and investments. His next trip will be later this month to the Summit of the Americas, where chiefs of state of Latin America, the Caribbean and North America will meet in Santiago de Chile to discuss issues relevant to the signing of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas in year 2005. The President has scheduled a grand tour of Asia, the first ever for a Dominican statesman. He will travel in July to Japan for a three day visit, then he will visit South Korea and Taiwan. In October, he plans to accept invitations to visit Portugal, Spain, Italy, the Vatican, England and France. The President is also expected to travel to El Salvador, to participate in the Central American Summit in the fall. The President will be active in Santo Domingo receiving regional chiefs of state. On the 16th of April, he will host the chiefs of state of Central America for the signing of the nation’s first free trade agreement, which will be with Central America. In August, he will host the chiefs of state of Caribbean Community (Caricom) nations for a Caribbean Summit.
