Addressing industry leaders at a seminar on ‘India-Dominican Republic: Trade and Investment Opportunities’ organised jointly by FICCI, CII and ASSOCHAM here today, Dr Fernandez said that Indian companies could invest in the Dominican Republic and take advantage of the country’s location for exports to the US and Latin American region.

The Dominican industry, he said, could export to India products such as coffee, tomato, organic cacaco (coco beans), bananas, hand-made cigars, plastics, medical devices, chemicals and industrial raw materials.

He invited Indian business leaders to forge partnerships and joint ventures with the Dominican private sector representatives accompanying him on his visit to India.

The Dominican President highlighted the business opportunities for the two sides in areas such as agri-business, tourism, renewable energy, IT and software, contact centres and BPO, manufacturing, medical devices, electronics and electrical components, mining and large infrastructure projects, film industry and the cyberpark of Santo Domingo.

India’s Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed expressed India’s deep desire to build comprehensive relations with the Dominican Republic. He said that although India-Dominica trade of over $100 million was not large, India was conscious of the vast potential that exists for greater trade and investment in the Dominican Republic.

He said, “We look at the Dominican Republic as a bridge between the Caribbean and the Central American region as well as a gateway to the North American markets”.
The minister urged Indian business to take advantage of the opportunities for investment in the Dominican Republic in the development of renewable energy, hospitality, tourism, film industry and animation and IT sectors.

The Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to India, Hans Dannenberg Castellanos pointed out that people-to-people and business-to-business contacts will be enhanced by the introduction of direct flights between the two countries following the signing soon of a civil aviation agreement with India.

Senior Member, CII and Chairman & Managing Director, INAPEX Pvt. Ltd, V K Mathur emphasised the need to keep up the momentum of trade and investment between the two countries and deepen the cooperation to take the relationship to a wide-ranging strategic dialogue. This, he said, would be in tune with the changing market dynamics and global economic and social architecture.

Co-Chairman, Tourism and Hospitality Committee, ASSOCHAM and Chairman, STIC Travels Pvt. Ltd, ubhash Goyal urged Indian industry to take advantage of the opportunities arising out of the stable and efficient business environment and the excellent telecommunications systems in the Dominican Republic.

FICCI National Executive Committee member and Chairman and Managing Director, Freeplay Energy India Pvt. Ltd, Devin Narang noted that the Dominican Republic was the largest importer among the 21 countries in the Central American and Caribbean regions. Its imports in 2010 were about $15 billion. Even a meagre 1% of the total imports would amount to a significant $150 million, he said, adding that this offered an excellent opportunity for Indian exporters to tap the burgeoning market.