President Luis Abinader travels to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, 5 March 2025 accepting an invitation from the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) to speak at its Executive Summit, El Dia reports.
The 2025 AAFA Executive Summit will be held in person from 5-7 March 2025, at the InterContinental Washington D.C. at The Wharf, bringing together executives from retail, apparel, footwear, and fashion accessory brands from the United States and around the globe for two days of thought-provoking dialogue.
The visit comes at a time when the United States is the focus of much controversy after the imposition of new trade tariffs. The Dominican Republic seeks to benefit from nearshoring contracts and the local free zone industry sector at present is booming.
The event in Washington, D.C. will address pivotal issues impacting the industry’s responsible growth and sustainable progress, with a focus on future-proofing the industry and shaping smart policy for sound business practices.
The Executive Summit seeks to explore how building trust can drive innovation, accelerate growth, and lead meaningful change while offering unparalleled opportunities to network, gain actionable insights from experts, and equip leaders to confidently navigate transformation.
The Dominican president is scheduled to depart in the afternoon, returning on Friday, 7 March to resume his national agenda with an event in Punta Cana, set for the afternoon.
President Abinader is expected to address the AAFA members at 9am on Thursday, 6 March, speaking before dozens of industry leaders attending the summit.
As part of his Washington visit, the president will also have a luncheon on Thursday with executives from the Atlantic Council and business leaders interested in investing in the Dominican Republic. These executives represent multinational companies from sectors such as pharmaceuticals, energy, technology, banking, and the film industry.
These high-level meetings come at a time when the U.S., Mexico, and Canada are engaged in a tariff dispute, presenting the Dominican Republic as a potential location for major companies from these countries to establish operations.
Adrienne Arsht, vice chair of the Atlantic Council’s board of directors, and Jason Marczak, the Council’s vice president, will host President Abinader and his delegation during their stay.
After completing his Washington agenda, President Abinader will travel to Indiana for a meeting with the leadership of Purdue University, including President Mung Chiang. Purdue University is working with the Dominican Republic to train for the development of the local semiconductor industry. Before returning to Santo Domingo on Friday, the President will tour Purdue University’s facilities alongside university officials.
Accompanying the President on this trip will be Minister of Industry and Commerce, Víctor “Ito” Bisonó; Presidential Cabinet Director Eilyn Beltran; Mercedes Pichardo, director of CUSEP; Chief of Security Jimmy Arias; and several local entrepreneurs.
El Dia reports that representing the Dominican Republic at the summit will also be business people Samuel Conde, Claudia Pellerano, Aquiles Bermúdez, Steven Puig, Fernando Capellán, Alejandro Marranzini, Jose Torres, José Manuel Santelises, Ricardo Pérez, Joseph Blumberg, Alejandro Peña Prieto, and Pepe Fanjul.
5 March 2025