The head of state, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, declared at the end of his official visit to the Dominican Republic that the Dominican authorities put forward “already very concrete” ideas and even “some unexpected proposals” for an “association with Portugal.”
“Today in the Dominican Republic we found a President and a Government – and two thirds of the Government were there, and he spoke governor by governor, folder by folder – who had their job done, knew in detail what they wanted from Portugal”, declared Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, at the end of a one-day official visit, made this Thursday, the first by a Portuguese head of state to this Caribbean country.
The President of the Republic, who was speaking in a hotel in Santo Domingo, before Portuguese emigrants and representatives of companies with a presence in the Dominican Republic, added: “I am very sorry that I cannot tell you how it was, because they were banzos, or banzados as they say in the Minho where my roots are, with the degree of detail and even the sophistication of some unexpected proposals that arose, almost improbable, such was the interest of the Dominican Republic in associating with Portugal”.
“I think expectations were far exceeded”, considered the Portuguese head of state, who during this visit invited his counterpart, Luis Abinader, to visit Portugal this year, within the framework of the Web Summit.
In statements to journalists, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that the Dominican economy “is the second fastest growing in all of Latin America and the Caribbean” and was impressed with the proposals for sectoral cooperation raised in the bilateral talks during this visit.
The head of state gave some examples of “very concrete ideas” from the Dominican authorities: “What if we go further in the ports in the connection between Caucedo and Sines? How about we do a joint project on green hydrogen? we need a lot of wind power, we have wind, and the Portuguese are good at it.”
“And they gave a series of very specific indications, very specific projects that they had in mind, preparing their homework very well”, he reinforced, to conclude: “That is why it was very worthwhile, a very quick visit”.
In his opinion, Dominicans “like the idea that Portugal has a special role, and to seek solutions to favor the Portuguese position, to balance” with other countries, to “diversify.”
“This is very promising, but it’s up to you, you’re in the right place at the right time,” he declared, adding: “If we don’t fill the place, another one will come, who is back there, behind the tree, waiting to get in.” .
Representatives of Altice and Mota-Engil were present at this meeting in a hotel in Santo Domingo, and the Director General of the World Organization for Migration (OIM), António Vitorino, was also present.
The King of Spain, Felipe VI, who was in the same hotel, went to greet Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Before the President of the Republic, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, described this visit as “historic” and “the beginning of a different era in an always friendly relationship, an old relationship” between Portugal and the Dominican Republic.
According to the minister, “if there was a central axis of dialogue” between the heads of state of the two countries “it was precisely about the opportunities that exist for economic relations.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa made this official visit to the Dominican Republic before participating in the 28th Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, in Santo Domingo, together with the Prime Minister, António Costa.
In the Dominican National Congress, the President of the Republic was applauded when he promised that Portugal “will work to bring the European Union closer to the Dominican Republic” and so that “Dominicans have the same access to Europe as other Latin American countries.”
Source: TSF
