The president of the World Bank, James D. Wolfensohn, said that the World Bank would back the Fernández administration with the technical and financial assistance necessary to implement reforms and developmental projects decided upon during the National Dialogue (talks held over a period of four months throughout the entire country to define the national priorities into the year 2000). Wolfensohn praised the National Dialogue, the initiative of President Leonel Fernández that sought to establish the base for a new kind of democracy – participative democracy. Wolfensohn said the World Bank would help finance projects in the areas of health, education, energy, highway construction and natural resources. During his visit, Wolfensohn signed a US$3 million loan for environmental assistance and another for US$30 million that will primarily fund women’s health programs in rural areas. In addition to the new programs, the World Bank has US$250 million to fund multiple development programs in the Dominican Republic. Wolfensohn said the country has made great strides in economic aspects. He promised to help the president by working together to achieve specific objectives of reducing poverty and improving health and education services available to the poor. He also said the World Bank is studying assisting tourism and financial sector projects. Wolfensohn told the press that the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation would open an office this year in Santo Domingo. Wolfensohn also said he would use all his influence as president of the World Bank to help resolve the differences between the Corporación Dominicana de Electricidad, the government electricity utility, and the private energy generation company that has installed the Smith-Enron plant in Puerto Plata. The government and Smith-Enron have a dispute that revolves around clauses in the contract whereby the CDE states that the private company seeks to charge for installed capacity rather than for energy served. The president of the World Bank visited Santo Domingo with two officers of the International Finance Corporation, economists Vivek Talvadkar and Apinas Suebsaeng, to discuss the Smith-Enron case, which he described as "difficult", but said that every effort would be made to find a "sensible solution" to the conflict. The IFC is involved in the conflict as the World Bank division was one of the financiers of the project, in violation of internal regulations that require a tender be held and projects guaranteed by the government.
