2005 – Page 144

The US Senate Finance Committee approved the Dominican Republic – Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the US Wednesday, leaving it ready for debate in the Senate – possibly before the 4th of July recess. During the vote, the treaty received the support of Democratic Senator Jeff Bingman from New Mexico, one of the …

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Dominican Ambassador to the US, Flavio Dario Espinal agrees that the country must make the institutional changes necessary for the DR-CAFTA agreement to come into effect, as reported in El Caribe. These changes, says Espinal, include customs administration and governmental purchasing, and must be seen as an opportunity or incentive to continue consolidating transparency and …

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The DR is formally requesting admission to the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP), an economic and social development program established in June 2001 between Mexico and Central America, as reported in El Caribe. In a press conference, Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso said the government had requested full membership in the PPP during the VII …

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District Attorney Jose Manuel Hernandez Peguero warned yesterday that former colonel Pedro Julio (Pepe) Goico must come to DR to complete the investigations of the Quirino case, as reported in Listin Diario. Peguero said he would use all the necessary legal measures to get Goico to come back to the DR. Goico was a security …

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Members of the Agribusiness Emergency Committee said yesterday that the DR will have two years to ratify the DR-CAFTA after it is approved by the US Congress without losing any of its benefits or obligations, as reported in Hoy. They want the views of the national productive sector to be taken into account before ratifying …

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Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services disclosed yesterday that it raised its long-term foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on the Dominican Republic to ‘B’ from ‘SD’. Standard & Poor’s also raised its short-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating on the republic to ‘B’ from ‘SD’. The long-term local currency sovereign credit rating was raised to ‘B’ …

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El Caribe reports that Participacion Ciudadana (PC) has criticized the media campaign against the financial system, the Central Bank and its governor, Hector Valdez Albizu, carried out by sectors connected to those accused of bank fraud. The campaign comes at a time when the court that is processing the Baninter case is close to sentencing, …

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Banking Superintendent Rafael Camilo, declared yesterday that offshore banking was not illegal, but that it was done through institutions that were not closely supervised by regulation authorities, and admitted that almost all banks in the system had an offshore system at the time of the 2003 crisis. Listin Diario reports that although Camilo admits the …

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In Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, Dominican President Leonel Fernandez said that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’ proposal to assist the DR with its energy woes was an “act of extreme generosity, most typical of his (Chavez’) personality.” The Dominican President arrived at this eastern city in Venezuela yesterday afternoon. Puerto La Cruz is located 319 kilometers …

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President Leonel Fernandez struck the first blow of a pick-ax to begin the construction of what will be Santo Domingo’s new port in an inauguration ceremony that took place yesterday. The project, called “The Revitalization and Enlargement of the Port of Santo Domingo” will require a US$400 million investment by Sans Souci Tourist Investments (ITSS), …

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