France Week 2021 will be held from 16 to 19 November. The theme is Sustainable City. The Santo Domingo Metro already runs using French Alstom cars and technology; the Las Americas International Airport is operated by a French company, Vinci. An extensive business, educational and cultural activities are planned for the fourth edition of the event.
The event is coordinated by the French-Dominican Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFD) with the participation of the French Embassy. Both organizations actively collaborate with the Dominican government, the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in France and the Santo Domingo City Hall to prepare the annual event.
This year, France Week will take place at the Epic Center and halls of the JW Marriott both at Blue Mall on Av. Winston Churchill in Santo Domingo. Events will be streamed live but there will be many face-to-face events, including forums, workshops, colloquiums, networking spaces and B2B meetings, along with artistic, cultural and educational activities.
This year, MEDEF International is participating bringing a mission of French companies. MEDEF is a non-profit private-funded organization created by the French Business Confederation to promote French companies’ know-how abroad through collective actions.
“This new edition of France Week is an excellent opportunity to further strengthen the commercial and cultural ties that for decades have united Dominicans and the French. The companies and industries that are part of the CCIFD will have at their disposal an ideal space to highlight the boom in economic exchanges between the two nations, and the contributions of French companies to the Dominican economy,” said the president of the CCIFD, Mónika Infante Henríquez. Infante Henríquez is the director of the Las Americas International Airport for Vinci Airports.
Infante Henríquez explained that trade between the DR and France is at a level of almost EUR200 million a year.
In participating in the announcing of the event, the French Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Eric Fournier said: “The economic, financial and social stability of the Dominican Republic has been the key platform that has allowed French companies to be increasingly present in this country. Around 30 French companies are established here employing close to 10,000 people in sectors such as transportation, industry, energy, water and services.”
On the cultural agenda of the event is a night of sustainable tourism at the Monument of Fray Antón de Montesinos, a gala night with artistic proposals organized by the Alliance Française, a night of Beaujolais Nouveau wine, a photographic exhibition of the artist Delphine Blast, among other activities.
Aerodom-Vinci Airports with the support of the Santo Domingo City Council is hosting a gala on the evening of 17 November to focus on the prospects for city and sustainable tourism and welcome the French delegation.
On the morning of 18 November, there will be presentations on sustainable urban mobility, particularly following the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (PMUS) of Greater Santo Domingo. Likewise, three thematic workshops will be held: the smart city, energy transition, water, sanitation and waste. During the workshops, French companies will present technical solutions relevant to the country.
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20 October 2021