President Leonel Fern?ndez had the first full day of his European tour yesterday, the longest trip of his Presidency. He leads a delegation of 30 – 16 high-ranking officials and 14 "special guests" (such as Baninter President Ram?n B?ez Figueroa and National Council of Private Enterprise head Celso Marranzini) Officials accompanying the President include Foreign Minister Latorre; Industry and Commerce Bonetti; Technical Secretary Tem?stocles Mont?s; Attorney-General Mariano Germ?n; Armed Forces Chief of Staff Manuel Florentino; Lom? Convention Coordinator Max Puig; Antonio Isa Conde, President of the Commission for Reform of Public Enterprises (CREP); Eddy Mart?nez, Director of the Office of Investment Promotion (OPI); and Hamlet Hermann, Director of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (AMET).Yesterday President Fern?ndez spent the day in Madrid, where he lunched privately with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Mar?a Aznar (the Spanish stop is not considered an official state visit). The two reportedly discussed informally a number of cooperation projects planned or currently underway totally some US$128 million.Later while speaking to reporters, President Fern?ndez urged Spanish companies to invest more aggressively in the DR, and particularly stressed Spanish participation in the upcoming capitalization of the Dominican Electricity Corporation (CDE). Three Spanish firms – Endesa, Uni?n Fenosa and Iberdrola – have already been pre-qualified for bidding for parts of CDE. Technical Secretary Mont?s and CREP President Isa Conde both met yesterday with officials of the three firms to discuss their interest in CDE. The two plan a similar meeting today in Paris with the huge French utility Electricit? de France (EDF), which is also pre-qualified for CDE bids.President Fern?ndez departed at 6:00 pm for Paris, where he will stay until Sunday. Today’s events include: (1) a breakfast with French businessmen belonging to the International Movement of French Enterprises; (2) a meeting with French President Jacques Chirac, who will host a lunch in the Dominican President’s honor and decorate Fern?ndez with the Legion of Honor medal, the highest award given by the French state to foreigners; (3) a 4:00 pm visit to Paris’ famed Sorbonne university, where Fern?ndez will receive an honorary doctorate; (4) an 8:00 pm meeting meet French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, followed by a state dinner in Fern?ndez’s honor; (5) a courtesy call on the head of the Senate (at 11:00 am); (6) the signing of a series of agreements with France (see separate story below). The President’s Friday schedule includes (1) an 8:30 am courtesy call on National Assembly President Laurent Fabius; (2) a 1:00 pm lunch in his honor hosted by the Assembly’s International Relations Committee, Jack Lang; (3) a 3:30 pm visit to the Supreme Court ("Corte de Casaci?n); (4) a 5:30 cocktail in his honor at the Dominican Embassy hosted by Ambassador Guillermo Pina Contreras. Saturday is being reserved for private meetings and events.Fern?ndez will fly on Sunday, January 17th to Rome. On Monday, January 18th he will have an historic private audience with Pope John Paul II — it will be the first time a Dominican head of state has been received by a Pope at the Vatican since the dictator Rafael Trujillo in 1955. Also on Monday he will have meetings with Italian businessmen meet with President Luigi Oscar Escalfaro and Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema. He is expected to sign a BIT with Italy, a financial cooperation accord plus other unspecified cooperation agreements. His time in Rome will include signing an agreement with the United Nation’s Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for the development of the Dominican Southeast.It was announced yesterday that the President will return to the DR on January 20th instead of the 21st as originally planned, so that he might attend the special mass scheduled on the 21st at the Bas?lica de Altagracia in Higuey. The 21st is a national holiday honoring the Virgin of Altagracia.
