Minister of External Affairs of India, Dr. S Jaishankar, official visit to the Dominican Republic
NEW DELHI - Minister of External Affairs of India, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, visited the Dominican Republic, from 27th to 29th April 2023, as part of a four country tour in Latin America that also included Guyana, Panama and Colombia.
The official agenda of the trip began with a call to the President of the Dominican Republic, H.E. Luis Abinader Corona, on the morning of April 28, 2023. During this meeting, President Abinader and Minister Jaishankar exchanged on potential areas of collaboration between both countries.
Later that day, Minister Jaishankar joined the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, Roberto Álvarez, at the premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic. Under the framework of the High-Level Political Dialogue, a fruitful discussion was held on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.
Following the Political Dialogue, the announcements included the signing of framework agreements between the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (MESCYT) of the Dominican Republic, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Delhi), and the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Bangalore). Also, the inclusion of the Dominican Republic into the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Program (ITEC), Defence scheme, which will allow armed forces personnel of the Dominican Republic to train in India. In addition, both parties expressed satisfaction with the recent training exchanges between India and the Dominican Republic and manifested the willingness to expand these programs in cybersecurity, big data management, and artificial intelligence.
Furthermore, both parties expressed satisfaction on finalizing negotiations on several agreements, including a Protocol on Joint Economic and Trade Cooperation (JETCO) between the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry of the Republic of India, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic; a Memorandum of Understanding between the Central Drug Control Organization of India (CDSCO) and the General Directorate of Medicines, Food, and Health Products of the Dominican Republic (DIGEMAPS) and a Memorandum of Understanding between the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA), Ministry of AYUSH, Republic of India and the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Ureña (UNPHU), on the establishment of an ”Academic Chair” at the university.
On matters related to commerce and investment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic (MIREX) hosted a business meeting with members of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and representatives from the public and private sectors of the Dominican Republic. During this event, both parties recognized the significance of the signing of an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the National Council of Private Enterprise of the Dominican Republic (CONEP) as a significant step in bringing private business sectors of both countries closer together.
As part of his visit, Minister S Jaishankar also inaugurated the Embassy of India in Dominican Republic, unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in a public space in Santo Domingo and opened the Indian Pavilion in the Faro a Colon Museum.