On March 3, the President of the CCI of Russia Sergey Katyrin met with the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the Russian Federation Hans Dannenberg Castellanos. The event was held at the CCI of Russia on the initiative of the Ambassador and was of a protocol nature. The meeting was attended by the Vice-president of the CCI of Russia Vladimir Padalko.
Sergey Katyrin briefly presented the work of the CCI of Russia’s system and spoke about the immediate development prospects. He noted that for the Dominican business there are a number of areas for cooperation with Russia. Today there are many opportunities in the Russian regions where the chambers operate. At the same time, the President of the CCI of Russia stressed that, unfortunately, the information interaction between the CCI of Russia and the corresponding chambers of commerce and industry of the Dominican Republic is unsatisfactory. So far, tourism is the leading area of Russian-Dominican cooperation. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of Russian tourists visiting the Dominican Republic was 250,000. Close tourist ties between the two countries can become a good foundation for the development of trade and economic interaction in almost all areas of activity.
As Sergey Katyrin noted, Russian entrepreneurs need to know more about the conditions for doing business in the Dominican Republic. In this regard, he proposed to consider the possibility of organizing a presentation of the investment potential of the Dominican Republic at the CCI of Russia. The Dominican Republic should study the issue of active participation in congress and exhibition activities at the Expocentre site, where the country's entrepreneurship can be presented in full. According to Sergey Katyrin, regional CCI’s in Russia may also be interested in the possibilities of the Dominican business. For this, the CCI RF is ready to provide all its resources, information bases and comprehensive assistance.
Hans Dannenberg Castellanos, in turn, shared his plans for the near future. According to the ambassador, business relations between the two countries must be brought to a new level. Today, the lion's share of trade from the Dominican Republic to Russia belongs to food products and agricultural raw materials (56% of the total). Russia, in turn, leads in the supply of metals and products from them - (68.5%) and in the export of chemical products (20.4%). But it is necessary to develop other areas of trade. There is also potential for investment. First of all, in energy (construction of power plants operating on liquefied gas, coal and renewable energy sources) and mining (supply of mining equipment, joint exploration and production of gold, silver, nickel, bauxite, granite, etc.), the Ambassador noted that 40% the country's export earnings come from the mining sector. This industry is a leader in attracting foreign investment. The Dominican Republic sees great prospects for cooperation in such industries as construction and telecommunications.
The Ambassador said that the Dominican Republic's interest in cooperation with Russia is evidenced by the fact that for the first time in the history of relations between the two countries, the “Guide for Investors” published in the DR, traditionally published in English, has been translated into Russian and will soon become available for Russian business.
Concluding the meeting, Sergey Katyrin thanked Hans Dannenberg Castellanos, noting that the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic (he was appointed to this position in December 2020) has ambitious plans aimed at strengthening and developing trade ties between our countries. The President of the RF CCI wished them to be implemented as soon as possible and once again assured that the CCI of Russia is ready to provide all-round assistance for this.
By CCI of Russia news reports
