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Dominican Republic: Santo Domingo
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The Round Table of the Commonwealth Countries in the Dominican Republic celebrated this year's Commonwealth Day at the auditorium of the Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo University (INTEC). The event was attended by professors, students, members, business representatives and friends of the Round Table. Dr Miguel Escala, president of INTEC, Fernando Rainieri, former president of Canadian-Dominican Chamber of Commerce and Marcos Pena, vice president of the British Chamber of Commerce spoke at the event. British Consul Scott Melling read a message from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The president of the Round Table and Honorary Consul of India, Fernando Gonzalez then spoke about the Commonwealth and its impact on the Dominican Economy.
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The Dominican Republic was explored by Columbus on his first voyage in 1492. He named it La Española, and his son, Diego, was its first viceroy. The capital, Santo Domingo, founded in 1496, is the oldest European settlement in the Western Hemisphere.
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The Dominican Republic has a close relationship with the United States and with the other states of the inter-American system. It has accredited diplomatic missions in most Western Hemisphere countries and in principal European capitals. Newly elected president of Haiti René Préval made a working visit to Santo Domingo in March 2006, reciprocating Leonel Fernández's call on the Interim Government of Haiti in December 2005. The Dominican Government has regularly appealed for international support for its island neighbor.
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During his previous term in office, President Leonel Fernandez brought the Dominican Republic back to the international stage... ending almost 30 years of self-imposed isolation which the country endured under previous, semi-autocratic regimes. He is seeking to do this again in his second term. Fernandez attended the inauguration of President Chávez of Venezuela during his previous term, and their friendship continues. Chávez visited Santo Domingo on 6 November 2004, and signed an oil purchasing agreement offering the Dominican Republic $150m of oil on very favourable terms, to help the country cope with its power sector crisis. The Venezuelan and Dominican Republic leaders signed another agreement offering the Dominican Republic beneficial oil-purchasing terms at the beginning of September 2005, to help the Dominican Republic cope with increasing world oil prices. Fernandez's courtship of CARICOM further underlines his objective of playing a key and pivotal role between the English and Spanish-speaking Caribbean.
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For the last three years, the Dominican Republic has boasted the highest rate of economic growth in Latin America, around 7-8% per year. Headlines proclaim a Dominican "economic miracle." The impressive growth figures... mask persistent inequality and poverty. In 1998, more than a fifth of Dominicans lived below the official poverty line of only $2 per day, and the level of rural poverty was more than double the urban rate. Poverty remains a severe problem, especially in places untouched by Santo Domingo's booming economy - in places like San Jose de Ocoa.
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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (Bloomberg): The Dominican Republic's inflation rate slowed in December from the previous month, because of lower gasoline prices. Consumer prices rose 1.14 percent last month after climbing 1.8 percent in November,the country's central bank said in a statement.
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