The ambassador of the Dominican Republic in Germany, Francisco Caraballo, highlighted the importance of the German tourism for the Dominican Republic and the opportunities that can be taken advantage of in tourism and clean energy and the advantages of doing business through the Alliance for Development for Democracy (ADD), together with several Central American countries.
Germany is the fourth largest economy in the worldTherefore, the country has the opportunity to take advantage of the ADD (Alliance for Development in Democracy) agreement signed by the Dominican Government with Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama, he stressed.
This market as a whole is seen by the Germans as the third largest trading partner of the United States and therefore as a high business potential in Germany, the diplomat stated to Listín Diario.
The country is the main exporter of organic bananas to Europe followed by tobacco and rum. A Berlin Philharmonic concert was held with violinist Aisha Shaid and a German pianist, enhancing the cultural ties between the two nations.
At a commercial level, “We are in a very good moment with Germany”said Ambassador Caraballo, regarding the recent celebration of 70 years of diplomatic relations between both nations.
The diplomat pointed out that the Fruit Logistic Fair was recently held at the end of 2022 with a delegation of 60 Dominican exporters who traveled to Germany with ProDominicana. Today, he said, there are avocados, pineapples, and other fruits and vegetables on German shelves.
He indicated that both Dominican agricultural products how medical products made in free zones are being exported. With the products of the Dominican field the farmers are profiting under the terms of the EPA agreement, agreement signed by the country with the European Union, he said.
For the diplomat, the war caused the rationalization of basic necessities, such as flour and oil, for the first time in many years in some regions.
In addition, the iconic German automotive industry suffered. He pointed out that a new vehicle after being ordered took months to be delivered.
Energy prices have skyrocketed and if the war continues its course and as the German media forecast a very cold winter, it was advised to save energy.
Regarding the behavior of prices, he stressed that inflation is the highest since the fall of the Berlin wall and there was a shortage of some raw materialsthe global distribution chain is overwhelmed and that is why Germany must inevitably seek the help of reliable countries, with common interests, with similar lines of thought that help meet these urgent needs and what better place to look for those partners than in Latin America and of course a country like the Dominican Republic.
Faced with this crisis, the ambassador explained that a great opportunity arises and everyone must be prepared.
Relaunching
For Ambassador Caraballo, the Dominican presence in Berlin has been relaunched. The embassy has a new location where Dominicans have their home to visit. Dominicans are registered and all activities are published on the web portal and support is offered to Creoles who are in a vulnerable situation.
remembered that une of the main axes of Dominican foreign policy focuses on the protection of Dominicans abroad. As a concurrent diplomat he serves six embassies from Berlin in the Baltics, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Romania, Poland and the Ukraine.
It facilitated the departure of more than 20 Dominicans who were in the conflict zone in Ukraine due to the Russian war and they were able to enter the Shengen area with the help of European allies, some of whom stayed with European relatives and others returned to Dominican Republic.
Business relationship
During 2015-2021, the commercial exchange of the Dominican Republic with Germany was US$3,149.4 million, of which 77.3% corresponded to imports of goods and the remaining 22.7% to exports.
Products
The country exports to Germany fresh or dried bananas (exclusive bananas), cigarettes, medical devices; tobacco, cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted; rum and other spirits obtained from sugar cane products, distilled and fermented, among others