Before 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 challenge after the pandemic is to avoid a financial crisis that causes social problems.
“One issue that we need to address at this summit and later in our countries is that from this pandemic crisis we cannot move to a financial crisis, a financial crisis that can socially destabilize many of our countries, “the Dominican president said during the forum of the thirteenth Ibero-American business meeting, held on Tuesday afternoon.
He also told other leaders that the countries they lead must prepare because the financial crisis caused by rising public debt can lead to tax-raising situations and a shrinking spending. social.
He also argued that it is necessary to have a pro-growth vision in the economy, which would also allow for a higher amount of taxes, as well as to create creative financial schemes that would cover the payment of debts, but without penalizing growth capacity and job creation.
Vaccines
Abinader reiterated that the COVAX program (the World Health Organization’s vaccine distribution mechanism) was a failure. several countries, but this has not been achieved ”.
“We understand that every country wants to vaccinate its people first, but I think we lacked the creativity to achieve the goals of each country,” Abinader said.
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 reacted positively.
He highlighted the case of exports, which in February the country reported record figures in this area.
“We are in the process of recovering tourism, we have about 300 thousand mostly North American tourists, estimated to arrive this April,” the head of state reported.
He added that the country already has more than 50 percent of hotels open, “I think we will have a major economic recovery,” he said.
As for forecasts made by credit organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and ECLAC, they indicate a six percent increase this year in the Dominican Republic.
He also pointed out that with social programs such as Phase 1 and Phase II to encourage companies and avoid unemployment, as well as the Stay at Home program for informal traders, the government has realized that poverty will only increase by 1 , 9%.
“Our goal is to try to get back to the level we had before the pandemic in a year,” he said.
The Dominican President participated 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 the Andorran government, Xavier Espot Zamora, and the Portuguese prime minister, Antonio Costa.
King Philip VI was responsible for the closing speech.
During this business forum, the National Health Service received an award in recognition of its good practices, which was received by its owner, Dr. Santiago Hazim.