Ahead of the inauguration of the XXVII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, indicated that the great post-pandemic challenge is to avoid a financial crisis that creates social problems.
“One issue we need to discuss at this summit and later in our countries is that after this pandemic crisis, we cannot move to a financial crisis, a financial crisis that could socially destabilize many of our countries, ”the Dominican president said at the forum of Tuesday afternoon’s 13th Ibero-American business meeting.
Likewise, he told the rest of the leaders that the countries they lead must prepare, because the financial crisis triggered by an increase in public debt can lead to situations that increase taxes and cause a contraction in spending, and in that sense social cause trouble. .
He also argued that it is necessary to have a growth vision in the economy, which also allows for more taxation, and to create creative financial arrangements that allow for debt repayment, but without hurting growth potential . and job creation.
Vaccines
Abinader reiterated that the COVAX program (the vaccine distribution mechanism of the World Health Organization) has been a failure, “since December we have asked them to allow us to sign an agreement with patents, so that we can produce vaccines in different laboratories, also for different countries, but that failed ”.
“We understand that every country wants to vaccinate its people first, but I think we lacked the creativity to achieve the goals of each of the countries,” said Abinader.
Economic aspects
In his speech, Abinader also referred to the economic aspect, noting that despite the fact that tourism, one of the main sources of foreign exchange in the country, was so affected by the pandemic, other sectors responded positively.
He pointed to exports, which the country reported record figures in this field in February.
“We are in the process of reviving tourism, we have about 300,000 mostly North American tourists arriving in April,” the head of state said.
He added that the country already has more than 50 percent of hotels open. “I think we will have an important economic recovery,” he said.
Forecasts from credit organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and ECLAC, point to six percent growth in the Dominican Republic this year.
He also emphasized that with social programs, such as Phase 1 and Phase II, to encourage businesses and prevent unemployment, and the Stay at Home program, targeting casual merchants, has achieved poverty by only 1.9 % will increase.
“Our goal is to try to restore the level we had before the pandemic within a year,” he said.
The Dominican President took part in the Forum in the company of the Presidents of Spain Pedro Sánchez from Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei from Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa; the head of government of Andorra Xavier Espot Zamora and the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
King Felipe VI presided over the closing speech.
During this business forum, the National Health Service received an award in recognition of its good practice, which was received by the owner, Dr. Santiago Hazim.