The Minister of Foreign Relations Eduardo Latorre emphasized that the DR needs to sign free trade agreements with both Central America and the Caribbean Community at the same time. He said that these represent a market of 60 million persons. He said that then the region will be in a better position to negotiate with the larger regional blocks, such as the Mercosur and the Andean Pact and the North American Free Trade Agreement. He defended the Dominican Republic’s signing of the agreements saying that a recent Latin American Economic Commission (CEPAL acronym in Spanish) study revealed that the DR is the Central American and Caribbean nation best prepared to benefit from regional integration.
