Santo Domingo’s Mayor, Juan de Dios ("Johnny") Ventura, left yesterday with a delegation from the municipal government to tour Europe and Israel seeking aid for the capital city’s plans and programs. In Italy he will visit Milan to talk with city officials there about the garbage collection services and technologies they utilize, and in Rome he will discuss follow-up to that city’s offer to President Fern?ndez to help improve SD services. In Paris the Mayor will attend a world meeting of Mayors and Governors to discuss common problems facing all local governments. There he will also sign an US$60 million agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IBD) to help SD improve the traffic signals and signs of the city. In Madrid he will negotiate an agreement for help in constructing marketplaces in SD. In Barcelona he will meet with officials to discuss how they tackle environmental problems of that city. He will also meet with officials responsible for Barcelona’s hosting of the Olympic Games several years ago, for tips on how SD should handle hosting the 2003 Pan American Games. Finally, in Israel Mayor Ventura will negotiate an agreement for technical help in municipal services.
