The Secretary for International Economic Relations, Jorge Neme, headed the first meeting of the Trade, Investment and Productive Links Promotion Working Group between Argentina and the Dominican Republic, with the goal of strengthening the intense work that the Argentine Foreign Ministry has been doing to increase exports and expand trade exchange with Central American countries.
“Argentina and Mercosur wish to enhance relations in all fields: trade, culture, and cooperation. Argentina and the Dominican Republic enjoy a trade relationship which has a lot of potential that still remains untapped, even with an average 200,000 Argentines travelling yearly, and which does not result in a more intense trade flow,” stated Neme upon opening the meeting which was attended by the Vice Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs and International Cooperation of the Dominican Republic, Hugo Rivera Fernández, and by officials of the Argentine Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and of the Argentine embassy to the Dominican Republic.
He stated that the meeting was held in a context in which both countries “have to explore new business opportunities to advance the exchange of services, goods, science, technology and cultural goods to bring our peoples together,” and he added that in “pandemic times, it is important to build a relationship between our scientific and research worlds, which can greatly contribute to improving the productivity of our public health system.”
Neme who holds office at the Foreign Ministry headed by Felipe Solá, stated that “Argentina sees the Dominican Republic as an important partner for Mercosur to reach Central America and the Caribbean, strengthening the exchange of exportable products of both sides. Therefore, in September 2020, draft Terms of Reference were submitted to start negotiations for a Trade Agreement between Mercosur and the DR.”
They also discussed access to markets, Argentina’s agricultural cooperation with the Dominican Republic, and the promotion of joint investments.
