President Ivan Duque met with President Luis Abinader, high-ranking Dominican government officers and leading business people on matters of economic recovery, trade, investment, migration, combatting, drug trafficking, police cooperation and regional and global issues. He was in Santo Domingo for a two day visit, 28-29 April 2022.
During his visit, President Ivan Duque lobbied for the signing of a Partial Trade Agreement with the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic is a major importer of goods from Colombia. In 2021, the Dominican exported US$47 million in goods to Colombia and imported US$437 million.
Tourism has been growing between both countries, with thousands of Dominicans taking advantage of low-cost fares by airlines, such as Wingo, that offer US$87 fares between both countries. Thousands of Colombians fly here to enjoy stays at beach resorts.
Six agreements were signed by the visiting delegation that accompanied President Duque to the Dominican Republic.
The agreements were in the areas of:
Bilateral cooperation in the field of the hydrocarbons industry
Inter-institutional police cooperation to join efforts to prevent and combat crime and terrorism
Public administration and training
Fostering sports, including baseball
Migration mobility and exchange of information
President Ivan Duque of Colombia is most likely to have been the first head of state to address the National Congress. He took time off from his busy schedule to speak to the senators and deputies. He spoke of the progress in relations between the two countries and had praise for the tourism industry in the Dominican Republic. In his improvised speech to the assembly of senators and deputies, the Colombian head of state highlighted the efforts made to consolidate security through the Police, the recovery of the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic and the consolidation of democracy in Colombia. He also indicated that the inflation the world is experiencing is being taken advantage of by “populists and demagogues” to try to affect government institutions.
Before speaking to the National Assembly, President Duque had met with the president of the Senate, Eduardo Estrella and the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco.
Read more in Spanish:
El Nuevo Diario
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
El Nacional
Diario Libre
Ministry of Foreign Relations
3 May 2022