Economy, Planning and Development Minister Pavel Isa Contreras promoted the Dominican Republic to Japanese investors during his trip to Japan, accompanying Vice President Raquel Peña during the first week of April 2023. He spoke of the boom in tourism, export manufacturing, construction and industrial and agricultural production for domestic consumption as sectors to consider.
Isa Contreras highlighted the very high growth of the Dominican economy and its diversification. He was part of the mission of the Dominican Republic that accompanied Vice President Raquel Pena who traveled to Japan for an official visit from 31 March to 5 April 2023.
Speaking during a dialogue with academic and cooperation authorities in Japan, Pavel Isa highlighted the high growth the country has experienced for more than 50 years. The director for Central America and the Caribbean of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Shintaro Akiyama, was present.
The researcher and university professor affirmed that between 1960 and 2022, the average annual GDP growth rate was more than 5%. At the same time, he pointed out that the Dominican Republic’s economy has diversified.
“Unlike many other developing countries, production, employment and exports are not concentrated in a few sectors. Sectors such as tourism, manufacturing exports, construction and industrial and agricultural production for domestic consumption have an important weight in the economy,” said Isa Contreras.
The minister highlighted that the Dominican Republic is also a country with a high human development index. “It is number 80 in the world, out of a total of 191 countries and has been climbing positions, especially due to its economic growth,” said Isa Contreras.
“Despite this, we have important social and productive transformation challenges that we must face and both are intimately related,” he said. At a time when the DR is seen as an emerging developing country, the Dominican Republic faces the impact of the multidimensional crisis in Haiti. Thousands of Haitians cross the border and have migrated to the Dominican Republic looking for work and free social services.
Speaking in Japan, Isa Contreras stated that social welfare and productive modernization are parts of the same equation, because the quantity and quality of jobs is a key elements for people’s quality of life.
Isa Contreras said that the Dominican Republic came out of the crisis (Covid-19) relatively unscathed because the country registered a very low mortality rate and recovered quickly. “The pandemic not only showed us how vulnerable we are globally and the high epidemiological risks facing humanity but also the weaknesses of our health system,” he said.
He stated that achieving greater health resilience is one of humanity’s great challenges. “For our country, this implies continuing to reform and strengthen the health system, from preventive health and primary care to specialized care, guaranteeing adequate financing of the system through both the social security system and direct public financing,” he said.
He said that universities should continue to contribute to training medical personnel, which has been their traditional role, and rethinking the organization and management of the health system and adapting new technologies for effective use in our context.
He indicated that Japan has a very successful history to share and has much to contribute to countries like the Dominican Republic which are still in the early stages of their development.
“We would like to count on your support, on the support of Japanese universities and academies to learn from your experience and the lessons learned may help us strengthen the academy and put it more at the service of productive modernization and the welfare of our people,” concluded the Minister of Economy.
During the visit in Japan, Isa Contreras and Industry & Commerce Minister Victor (Ito) Bisono met with their counterpart, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan.
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Ministry of Economy
Ministry of Economy
10 April 2023