The 73rd Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Central American System of Integration (SICA) and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation for the Kingdom of Spain Alfonso Dastis took place in Santo Domingo on 14 March 2018. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss strategies to strengthen cooperation between Spain and the region.
The conference took place at the convention center of the Ministry of Foreign Relations. The visitors were hosted by Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas Maldonado. The Dominican Republic holds the temporary presidency of the SICA from January to June 2018.
During the meeting the ministers approved the cooperation program for Fondo España-SICA for the next three years (2018-2021). The main points of the program are: the promotion of the democratic security model of Central America; environmental sustainability, human rights and gender; deepening the benefits of economic integration and supporting the effectiveness and coordination of SICA. The programs are to receive funding from the Spanish Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (Aecid).
Dominican Foreign Minister Vargas Maldonado highlighted that while SICA countries imported more than US$1.6 billion from Spain in 2017, only US$420 million was exported. “These statistics show the importance of our trade relationship and are a challenge for the region. We need to generate more export opportunities to reduce the present trade deficit,” he said.
The Dominican Foreign Minister suggested more SICA-Spain dialogue spaces to create additional opportunities in the region through comprehensive and sustainable public policies that reduce the substantial accumulated social debt and spur sustainable economic development.
During the activity, the Secretary General of SICA, Vinicio Cerezo, recommended greater steps be taken towards integration and the forging of agreements based on common development objectives.
The Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said that his country feels very close to the region and is highly favorable to the receptivity of the SICA group.
Participating in the deliberations were Sandra Jovel, foreign minister of Guatemala; María Dolores Aguero, foreign minister of Honduras; and deputy foreign ministers for Belize, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and El Salvador.
As part of his agenda in the Dominican Republic, Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis visited President Danilo Medina at the Presidential Palace. He was accompanied by Fernando García Casas, Spanish secretary of state for cooperation and Iberoamerica.
Read more in Spanish:
Ministry of Foreign Relations
Presidencia
15 March 2018
