President Leonel Fern?ndez in his keynote address during the opening ceremony of an international journalism seminar said that the DR has to create a niche market for its exports. He favored pursuing capital intensive production such as electronics, informatics, biotechnology in Dominican industrial free zones. These emerging exports would allow the DR to diversify away from the production of footwear and apparel. The President spoke during the "Journalism and Democracy in Latin America: Global and Regional Integration" seminar organized by the Dominican College of Journalists, the Association of Professional Journalists and the National Press Union. In another part of his talk, he advocated the importance of Dominican political forces signing a pact for the better future of the nation. He said this was the secret to success in France and Great Britain and Asian countries after the World War II. He said that politicians participating in the talks now taking place at the National Palace should have foremost the vision of what the DR should be in the 21st century. "I have always believed that the greatest challenge for the economic and social development of the DR is carrying out these changes in a democracy," said President Fern?ndez. He explained that other countries have reached economic and social development but under authoritarian government models. He said that political leaders must have clear that there is no stepping back from the advances in democracy made in the DR. Attending the seminar are Federico Mayor Zaragoza, general director of UNESCO; Luis S?arez, president of the Federaci?n Latinoamericana de Periodistas; and Noble Peace Prize winners Rigoberta Mench? and Adolfo P?rez Esquivel. As a side activity to the seminar, President Fern?ndez decorated S?arez, Mench? and P?rez with the order of merit Duarte, S?nchez and Mella, silver cross.
