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Dominican Republic
Greetings
Dominican Republic,
a country of unique
opportunities
H. E. Ramón Quiñones
Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Austria, and Bulgaria.
Dean of the Diplomatic Corps for Latin America and Caribbean
As the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic
to Austria and the Dean of the Diplomatic
Corps from Latin America and the Caribbean,
I would like to thank the European Business
and Investment Forum iconvienna 2017 presided by
Dr. Gerhard Hrebicek and his team for their kind invitation
to participate once again in this important
event, which allows us to exchange economic and
commercial strategies and experiences, as well as
unique opportunities for investment.
Thanks to his privileged geographic location, the
Dominican Republic has become an important commercial
gateway between America, Europe and the
rest of the world. Its position in the heart of the Caribbean
provides international trade fast and efficient
means of transportation through 8 international airports,
12 sea ports, 5 cruise ports and more than 270
international flights daily, thus making the country
the ideal “Caribbean Hub” for exports and an attractive
tourist destination which received about 6 million
visitors in 2016.
The Dominican Republic is currently one of the
most privileged countries in Latin America and the
Caribbean in terms of business environment owing to
its vast natural resources, a stable political environment,
as well as a conducive legal framework for foreign
investments, economic stability and a bilingual
and trained labor force. These factors have allowed
sustained economic growth averaging more than 5 %
over last 10 years, achieving 7 % in 2015 and 6.6 % in
2016. The main areas of investment are: free economic
zones, textile and footwear industry, renewable
energy, customer contact centers & business process
outsourcing, film industry, software development,
medical devices, infrastructure, tourism, telecommunications,
mining and agroindustry.
Export products comprise almost 4,000 high quality
product lines at very competitive prices ranging
from agroindustry, health and beauty, construction,
manufacture and industry, technology and cultural
goods present in more than 170 international markets
with preferential access to more than 900 million
consumers through 5 trade agreements including
with the European Union and the U.S.A. In the agriculture
and livestock areas, we are renowned for being
one of the main exporters of (bio)tropical organic
products, such as cacao, bananas, mango, as well as
other worldwide highly regarded products like rum,
cigars, different sorts of peppers and avocados.
I wish iconvienna the best of success in 2017.
Foto: Embassy of the Dominian Republic
The European Business and Investment Magazine iconannual 19