For the first time ever the Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Ms Raquel Peña Rodríguez, will be visiting India from October 3 to October 5, 2023. Focus of the visit will be to explore opportunities to further deepen relations between the two countries.
Both countries have recently made a significant agreement to enhance their collaboration through South-South Cooperation. And they aim to strengthen their partnership in various fields, such as space exploration, satellite data management, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and information and communication technologies, among others. Notably, India will extend its ITEC-Defense Scheme to include the Caribbean nation, allowing their armed forces personnel to receive training at various military institutes in India, marking a significant milestone in their relationship.
Accompanied by a high level official delegation the Vice President of Dominican Republic is coming at the invitation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Why is this visit important?
India and the Dominican Republic have been friends for 25 years now. And have established bilateral relations since May 4, 1999. The strengthening and consolidation of bilateral ties led to the decision of the government of the Dominican Republic to open a diplomatic mission in New Delhi in 2006. In January 2021, India announced the opening of its embassy in the Dominican Republic. On February 2, 2022, Ambassador Ramu Abbagani presented his credentials to President Luis Abinader, becoming the first resident ambassador of India in Santo Domingo.
Agenda of the visit
According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), during her visit, Ms Rodríguez will meet with the President, Ms Droupadi Murmu. She will also have talks with Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar, and other important Indian leaders.
This will be followed by her delivering a talk about the relationship between India and the Dominican Republic at the Indian Council for World Affairs.
This visit comes shortly after India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, went to the Caribbean country earlier this year in April.
In an earlier interaction with Financial Express Online, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roberto Alvarez said that the visit of Jaishankar to his country, had an exhaustive agenda. The two nations engaged in an extended political discourse that contributed to fostering a more dynamic connection between the productive sectors of both countries. This interaction facilitated the identification of new investment and trade opportunities, along with potential avenues for cooperation.
Additionally, Minister Jaishankar participated in the 4th SICA-India Ministerial Meeting in Panama and the 4th CARICOM-India Ministerial Meeting in Guyana, enabling India to establish contact with leaders from numerous Caribbean and Central American nations. Recognizing the Dominican Republic as the primary economy in these regions and a pivotal bridge between the Caribbean and Central America, India views it as a valuable partner for strengthening its presence in the Americas.
Situated centrally within the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic serves as a vital link connecting Europe, North America, and the broader Latin American region. According to Minister Alvarez it provides preferential access to a vast market of over 1.2 billion consumers through various free trade agreements, including DR-CAFTA with Central America and the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union. The country boasts a robust legal framework, economic stability, social and political stability, a skilled workforce, and adequate infrastructure to accommodate international businesses.
Regarding investment opportunities in the Dominican Republic, enterprises operating in sectors such as medical and pharmaceutical devices, household appliances, electronics, textile and clothing manufacturing, plastic products, and software development can leverage the benefits offered by Law No. 8-90 concerning free zones.
Noteworthy highlights encompass:
– The Dominican Republic ranks as the third-largest provider of pharmaceutical and medical devices in Latin America.
– In 2020, it emerged as the leading exporter of medical switches to the US market, capturing a substantial market share of 62.5%.
– The country’s textile sector is equipped with technology-intensive assembly capabilities, enabling innovation, research, development, and the addition of value to final products at competitive prices.
– The nation also boasts a significant pool of bilingual youth and skilled personnel in information technology and software development.
In the realm of the film industry, a sector of considerable importance to India, the Dominican Republic has successfully consolidated and strengthened its film industry through the implementation of Law No. 108-10 for the Promotion of Film Activity in the country. Furthermore, its diverse landscapes, encompassing imposing mountains, rivers, valleys, and arid expanses, provide a versatile backdrop for audiovisual production.
In discussing potential projects, both public and private, Indian investors can consider opportunities within the Free Zone Projects Corporation, industrial parks, the tourism sector, road and highway projects, Electronic Secured Transactions System, and digital medical record projects.
The Dominican Republic has evolved into a prominent logistics hub in the Americas, offering an amalgamation of tax incentives, market access, and robust infrastructure. As affirmed by the World Economic Forum, it boasts world-class transportation infrastructure within the Latin American region and holds access to a market encompassing 900 million people. Consequently, the Dominican Republic’s value-added logistics industry sector has witnessed significant growth, accompanied by the establishment of numerous logistics centers on the island.
In this context, the country provides substantial advantages to Indian companies, including:
– The establishment of logistics parks, facilitating services such as storage, deconsolidation, packaging, labeling, distribution, and re-exportation of goods.
– Local tax regulations that alleviate the complexities of global trade.
– An extensive transportation infrastructure network encompassing 8 international airports, 18 ports, 15 terminals, and 4 anchorages. This network offers 23 direct and transshipment weekly departures to various global destinations.
– Additionally, five Dominican flag airlines offer direct flights to 24 destinations in 18 countries within the region, with flight frequencies extending to more than 150 destinations.
– An efficient container dispatch system within 24 hours (D24H) and advanced non-intrusive inspection technologies (X-rays) expedite merchandise verification processes at the customs level.