Dominican Republic and Belize strengthen ties
Belize and the Dominican Republic today embarked on a path of closer co-operation. President of the Dominican Republic, Hipolito Mejia and Belize’s Prime Minister Said Musa this morning signed a joint declaration and two agreements designed to strengthen ties between the two countries. The Memorandum of Understanding and Consultation commits the respective foreign ministries to consult on a regular basis on a broad range of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. A co-operation agreement in the area of tourism encourages growth in the industry by providing investors with opportunities for professional training in the Dominican Republic. At a press conference this morning Prime Minister Musa explained what the new found affinity is all about.
Prime Minister Said Musa
“The Dominican Republic today is one of the fastest growing countries in the Caribbean, if not the fastest. And clearly I like to think there is a lot of parallel that we can learn from the D.R., in fact that they see agriculture as a bedrock for development at the same time they are moving aggressively into the services sector, into tourism. And I believe Belize has a lot to learn from that model. So when I visited him and attended his inauguration, I invited him to come to Belize and I recently renewed that invitation through our very distinguished ambassador, who has been a great friend of Belize and the Dominican Republic, Mr. Eduardo Lama, who is the catalyst forging this relationship. And so I would say “why the Dominican Republic?” Because we believe there is a lot that we can share together for our mutual benefit.”
Hipolito Mejia, President, Dominican Republic
“And we are a small country, small economy, we need to be together. This is the philosophy, we need to be together and we need to work together and will. Right?”
Prime Minister Said Musa
“Right.”
Mejia thanked the government for the courtesy offered to him during his stay in Belize and also extended an invitation to Musa to visit the Dominican Republic. Mejia departed Belize this afternoon for Honduras.
