The British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Dominican Republic have established initial contact to begin the process of strengthening economic cooperation through trade and agriculture, among other things.
BVI Special Envoy Mr. Benito Wheatley and The Honourable Olaya Dotel Caraballo, Dominican Republic Vice Minister of International Cooperation in the Ministry for Economy, Planning and Development, met in the margins of regional meetings at the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile where they held preliminary discussions.
They explored potential areas of collaboration that included regional transportation, shipping, trade and agriculture. Opportunities for development cooperation were also discussed.
The Special Envoy and Vice Minister also highlighted the historical relationship between the BVI and Dominican Republic, longstanding family ties, and areas of shared heritage.
Mr. Wheatley thanked Ms. Caraballo for the Dominican Republic’s advocacy of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) at regional and international forums to encourage the international community to help SIDS respond to climate change and external economic shocks. He also pledged that the BVI will continue to work in partnership with the Dominican Republic on promoting sustainable development and climate resilience in the Caribbean.
Speaking on their meeting, the Special Envoy said, “I was pleased to make initial contact with Vice Minister Caraballo to deliver on the mandate given by Premier Dr. Hon. Natalio D. Wheatley to his senior team to begin outreach to our Dominican partners on deepening economic cooperation between the British Virgin Islands and Dominican Republic as we take steps to diversify our trade to help mitigate the impact of global inflation on food prices locally.”
They agreed to follow up with their senior leadership on further steps in establishing an official dialogue between their Governments on economic cooperation, as well as the possibility of development cooperation, cultural exchange, and celebration of shared heritage.
The BVI and Dominican Republic both currently serve as Vice Chairs of UN ECLAC under the Chairmanship of Peru and will work together to support Peru and UN ECLAC on advancing the sustainable development and economic and social transformation of Latin America and the Caribbean.