Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas met in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, 23 May 2018 with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs of the United States Department of State Thomas Shannon. In a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Relations reported that the meeting was to strengthen the relations between both countries and to look into matters on the bilateral and regional agenda.
When in Washington, Vargas received the Cultural Heritage of the Americas Award for Dominican merengue at the Organization of American States. The merengue is recognized as a “cultural expression of the continent.”
He also attended a session of the US House of Representatives where late PRD leader José Francisco Peña Gómez was recognized for his contributions to democracy.
The meeting at the US Department of States comes shortly after Robert Copley, acting ambassador for the United States in the Dominican Republic, visited the Presidential Palace in Santo Domingo to express displeasure and “disappointment” over the establishing of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China and concern over China’s track record on investment in developing countries, including loans for projects with impacts on the environmental, labor and community development.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Ministry of Foreign Relations
24 May 2018
