The 29th edition of Dominican Week opened on Monday, 27 September 2021 in Washington, D.C. The event has served for nearly three decades to strengthen political, commercial, social and cultural ties between the two countries.
The event was founded by the late lawyer Luis Heredia Bonetti and is continued by the American Chamber of Commerce. This year, the event promotes the Dominican Republic as a nearshore manufacturing destination and a regional logistics hub. The promoters explain the advantages of the newly passed Customs Law and the implementation of the 24-hour clearance of goods at ports.
Likewise, there is information on the new Public-Private Partnership opportunities, the Capital Market Law, the revival of tourism, renewable energy opportunities. The promoters are also sharing the success story of the Dominican Republic in dealing with the pandemic.
Roberto Herrera, president of the American Chamber of Commerce, gave the inaugural speech at the Dominican Embassy in Washington, D.C. “If we want to achieve great goals, alliances are essential,” he said. He highlighted that in the particular context in which we currently live, synergies with key partners are needed for the country to achieve development and enhance its competitiveness.
TheDominican ambassador in Washington, Sonia Guzmán valued the opportunity offered by Dominican Week to promote the country and promote new government efforts to achieve greater integrity, transparency and institutional strengthening.
“The Dominican Republic is a reliable and steadfast partner of the United States. During this week, you will meet with government authorities, academics, and business people from various sectors, to share this vision of the country and the future that we are building together. You will also meet with the valuable Dominican community residing in the United States, which is also key to our national development. By recognizing their achievements, we are giving value to the roots that bind them to the homeland, acknowledging their enormous desire to contribute,” said Ambassador Guzman.
The opening meeting was also attended by the Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to the Organization of American States (OAS), Josué Fiallo; the executive vice president of the National Council of Business (Conep), César Dargam; Carlos Flaquer, deputy minister of free zones at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce; the deputy minister for the digital agenda, José David Montilla and congressman Orlando Jorge Villegas.
After the inauguration, the agenda continued at Georgetown University with a keynote address by Dominican Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez on “The Dominican Republic: A Shining Star in a Troubled Region.” Closing the evening, the Dominican Embassy and the Dominican Republic’s Cinema Agency (DGCINE) presented a special screening of the film “Colors,” directed by Luis Cepeda, as a showcase of the progress of the film industry in the country.
As every year, Dominican Week has also had the collaboration of the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic.
Read more in Spanish:
American Chamber of Commerce
Diario Libre
28 September 2021