President Luis Abinader is backing the Dominican delegation to the Dubai Expo. The world fair had to be postponed and now will take place from 1 October to 31 March 2022 in Dubai. Abinader says this is an opportunity for the country to promote its tourism, exports, investments, culture and gastronomy to global audiences. The Dominican Republic’s participation sponsor, DP World Ports sees the event as a launching of the country as the logistics hub of the Caribbean.
At an event held at the conventions center of the Ministry of Foreign Relations the President announced the signing of a US$800,000 memorandum of understanding with Dubai Ports World for the country’s participation. DP World is the owner-operator of the Punta Caucedo Multimodal Port in eastern Santo Domingo.
DP World is sponsoring the Dominican participation in the event and covering the expenses, as agreed upon between Foreign Relations Minister Roberto Álvarez, and the CEO of DP World in the Dominican Republic, Morten Johansen.
Foreign Minister Álvarez expects the trade show to lay the foundations for expanding the presence and commercial relations with international allies, thanks to the public-private alliance made with DP World in the Dominican Republic and the support provided by the United Arab Emirates.
Johansen of DP World says the participation of the Dominican Republic in this year’s exhibition is key to support the strategy to reactivate the country’s economy. “We believe in this platform to promote the Dominican Republic in other markets,” he stated. Johansen explained the agreement is the initial step to turn the Caribbean nation into the logistics hub of the region.
Representatives of DP World, the operator of the Punta Caucedo Multimodal Port, are helping the Dominican authorities organize the local participation in the global expo. The exhibition is being billed as the biggest event to be held in the Arab world. For the United Arab Emirates it is a showpiece event that comes at a time when the world seeks to recover from the health and economic crisis. The organizers are betting on the global vaccine programs and expects sufficient people to be vaccinated to spur travel and make possible the goal of attracting 15 million visitors. This is down from the 25 million expected prior to the pandemic.
For years, the Dominican Republic has been working on securing an Emirates flight to the Dominican Republic.
Read more:
Listin Diario
El Nuevo Diario
Expo Dubai
BBC
6 July 2021