The presidents of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader; Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado Quesada and Panama, Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, gathered at the Alliance for Development in Democracy, in the city of San José, Costa Rica, signed the Declaration of San José, where they reiterated their willingness to work decisively to promote concrete actions for the economic growth of their peoples, based on respect for human rights, sustainability and democratic values.
Likewise, the sustainable and inclusive economic recovery, the fight against climate change, the attention to the health needs of their peoples, the creation of decent jobs, under the indisputable premise that today’s actions will shape tomorrow’s realities.
Trade and investment
Following the signing of the Declaration of San José, the leaders of the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Panama declared that strengthening regional supply chains was a priority in the area of trade and investment.
The three presidents pledged to ensure the implementation of public policies in their states that promote the shared objectives of an investment that fosters a strategic alliance to increase trade flows.
“For this reason, we reiterate our commitment to move forward with the fulfillment of the purposes established in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Ministers of Foreign Trade of the Republic of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Panama in December 2021,” the document states.
U.S.A. strategic ally
Likewise, they recognize the United States of America as a strategic ally of this Alliance, with whom the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Panama share the common objectives of strengthening, in democracy and freedom, competitiveness, socioeconomic development and job creation, through trade and investment.
Formation of the working group
They indicate in the document that, to this end, they have formed a working group among the four countries, in which they will analyze the implementation of concrete proposals that will allow them to insert themselves more efficiently in the supply chains of U.S. companies, especially in key areas of the manufacturing and services sectors, with a view to enhancing their growth and the positive impact this has on the promotion of sustainable, inclusive and resilient development objectives.
In point 17 of the Declaration of San José, within the framework of the Alliance for Development in Democracy, it was also agreed to request multilateral organizations to establish rapid emergency lines of credit and debt guarantee mechanisms to provide financing to the different countries in times of crisis.
On the other hand, to promote the establishment of lines and/or financing to Local Governments and public institutions not belonging to the Central Governments, without sovereign guarantee. “Likewise, it was agreed to request Debt Relief lines from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for middle-income countries, in order to promote debt sustainability over time.
