Hoy newspaper carries an interview with Costa Rica Ambassador Mario Garnier and his wife Isabel Chavez. The couple says they feel at home in the DR. "We will be here on official duty until year 2002, when a new President of Costa Rica will be elected, and the cabinet changes," he told Hoy newspaper. But, he said, "We are considering staying to live here, because there are few places like this to live." As ambassador, Garnier seeks to reinforce tourism and start a joint program to sell the two destinations in one package to tourists: Dominican Republic as a beach destination and Costa Rica as an ecological destination. He also said he is lobbying so that the Dominican Congress passes the free trade agreement with Central America. This is Garnier’s second time as ambassador to the Dominican Republic. He was appointed ambassador in 1994, prior to similar service in Chile. At the time he did not complete the minimum two-year term and convinced the Costa Rican government to send him back. The Costa Rican ambassadors’ youngest daughter, Silvia and son-in-law Alejandro Stavropoulous live in the DR. (31 January 2001)
