Ties would benefit South Africa and the Dominican Republic
This key Caribbean country offers opportunities in tourism, energy and trade
WHEN I arrived at a reception of the European Union Mission in Cape Town, I was greeted by a fellow ambassador and colleague from a Latin American country, and he told me: “The Dominican Republic is in the news”.
Three isolated incidents involving foreign citizens, including the attack on the famous baseball player David Ortiz, have caused a negative international campaign against all Dominicans.
But the reality is that the Dominican Republic is a safe country for all tourists, it provides for the enjoyment of the very best holidays, and offers great business and investment opportunities.
The Dominican Republic has received 30 million tourists in the last five years. And thus far, we have been mentioned in a negative light regarding the scandal of those three above-mentioned isolated incidents involving foreigners and the famous Dominican baseball player.
The slogan of our international promotion is that the Dominican Republic has it all. It’s a place of enjoyment and presents countless opportunities for people to positively benefit from numerous business and investment opportunities.
Our satisfaction index is highly positive, as much for the gentleness of our people as for the quality of our services.
In the Dominican Republic you can find excellent food, good music for dancing and a culture that’s a mixture of different influences and customs from Spain, the native Taino people, as well as African culture.
Enjoying the same rights as our citizens do, foreign investors have the opportunity to conduct business in the following sectors, which have presented the fastest economic growth in the country: tourism, energy, transport, financial services, agriculture, free trade zones and construction.
It has growth of between 5% and 7%, the largest in the entire Latin American region. A security emergency system exists in more than two thirds of the population, and the index of vehicle thefts has decreased by 25%.
Six years ago, when President Danilo Medina took power, there were 30 surveillance cameras in the entire country; now there are about 30000.
According to studies, among the 50 most dangerous and insecure cities in Latin America, are Los Cabos, Tijuana, San Pedro Sula, San Salvador and Acapulco, but no city in the Dominican Republic. The homicide rate in the Dominican Republic is 8.66% per 100000 inhabitants, four times lower than in cities considered very safe, like New Orleans in the US.
More than statistics, hospitality and kindness are typical of the Dominican people. And in that, there is a great similarity to and influence of African roots.
The Dominican Republic appears, according to the Department of State, in Category 2 – which means travelling with caution, along with countries such as Israel, Spain, Denmark, China, Italy, Germany and Belgium. The same warning issued for those countries also applies to those who travel to the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic is in the news because it represents strong competition for other tourism sectors, which have been surprised by a small nation with awe-inspiring natural beauty, which receives countless tourists.
The Dominican Republic is also in the news because it now occupies an important place in the Security Council of the UN, providing a different voice in favour of peace and in the fight against crime.
The Dominican Republic is specifically in the news because our chancellor, Miguel Vargas, recently presented himself before the Security Council of the UN regarding our country’s concern for the need to confront international and organised crime.
The lack of information, knowledge and barriers, such as distance and language, sometimes constitute sources for distortion, confusion and manipulation.
I consider it of particular importance to dedicate resources of education, technology and innovation to break the lack of information, to reduce distances and to access regions such as the Caribbean, where the Dominican Republic occupies an important position of leadership.
I suggest designing programmes for young Africans’ submersion in the Spanish language, so that they can better get to know the Hispanic culture as well as the Dominican; and this can serve for the expansion of business between our regions.
I am in favour of direct flights between the Dominican Republic and South Africa as a bridge for the Caribbean region, to promote tourism and business and investment opportunities.
I welcome the initiative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Africa, Naledi Pandor that diplomacy should become a tool in favour of young Africans. I believe that now is a good time.
We wish for, and are looking forward to, the opportunity to work together on that goal.
The Dominican Republic is in favour of opening education, business and investment opportunities for the prosperity of our nations.
Galvan is the current ambassador of Dominican Republic to South Africa