On the occasion of the visit to Spain by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Small and Medium Enterprises of the Dominican Republic, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón, a business meeting Spain-Dominican Republic took place yesterday at the CEOE headquarters: logistics hub and investment platform for Spanish companies.
The event was attended by the Dominican ambassador, Tony Raful, and numerous entrepreneurs and investors who filled a room that became too small due to the high presence of interested attendees.
President of the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP) in the Dominican Republic, Celso Juan Marranzini Esteva, noted in his speech that “today we are brought together by a relationship built over generations, based on trust, cultural closeness, and values, a common vision of progress.”
After highlighting the historical importance that Spain has had as a partner of the Dominican Republic, Celso Juan Marranzini stated that “if I had to summarize in one word the main strength of the Dominican Republic, it would be the word Trust. Trust in a stable democracy, in an economy that has grown in a sustained manner and has demonstrated resilience in the face of global challenges, trust in a private sector committed to development, and trust in a society that continues to bet on the opening of investment and the creation of opportunities. Over the last few decades, the Dominican Republic has become a very dynamic economy, that is the prize.”
“The Dominican experience shows that when the private and public sectors work together, it is possible to face challenges, seize opportunities, and create the conditions for more solid and sustainable developments, which is why we deeply value meetings like this,” he concluded.
Amparo López, Secretary of State for Commerce and President of ICEX Spain Export and Investments, took the floor to highlight that “this working group reflects the institutional strengthening of economic relations between Spain and the Dominican Republic in recent years and is a very valuable tool that allows us to advance in a stable and periodic economic dialogue, and in a shared agenda for market access, investment, and new areas of collaboration, and, moreover, provides continuity and predictability to a bilateral relationship that, as we say, is going through an excellent moment.”
The Secretary of State continued by providing data on the trade relations between the two countries. “Spain in 2025 has positioned itself as the largest foreign investor in the Dominican Republic with over one billion dollars in direct investment flows. This figure represents more than 21% of the total foreign investment captured by the country and places Spain slightly ahead of the USA. These are not casual figures or results, but respond to a series of very solid structural factors such as a favorable macroeconomic environment that we have already discussed and the capability of the Dominican Republic to attract investment in high value-added sectors, and undoubtedly, all of this is key to continue providing a predictable, safe, and attractive framework for investors. But it also reflects something very important, the confidence of Spanish companies in the future of the Dominican Republic, a confidence built over the long term based on a committed and stable business presence over the long term. On the other hand, we talk about investment, but the evolution of bilateral trade is equally positive.”
“In recent years, Spain has consolidated itself as the first European trading partner of the Dominican Republic and as its third partner globally. The figures for 2025 confirm this trend with exports exceeding the threshold of one billion euros and with more than 5,000 Spanish companies importing to the Dominican Republic and over 200 established in the country, many of them for several decades,” Amparo López highlighted.
“But this relationship we maintain in these two countries goes far beyond trade and investment,” she added. “Spain is the second largest sender of remittances to the Dominican Republic and hosts the second largest Dominican community in the world. These are deep human ties that reinforce the strategic and multidimensional nature of our relationship, and in that very favorable context, despite these good figures I have mentioned, we have ample room to continue improving.”
The Secretary of State concluded her speech by emphasizing that “there are opportunities for collaboration between our countries in strategic sectors such as energy, water, sanitation, or transport infrastructure. Additionally, the Dominican Republic is promoting interesting investment programs in these areas, and Spain has leading companies at the international level in terms of experience, technology, innovation, and capacity to accompany this process. This convergence is particularly relevant within the framework of the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative, which promotes the mobilization of investments towards strategic sectors and reinforces the complementarity between the development activities of the Dominican Republic.”
Subsequently, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Small and Medium Enterprises of the Dominican Republic, Eduardo Sanz Lovatón, took the floor to highlight the “window of opportunities” that his country represents at this moment. We assume the leadership role we have in the Caribbean region, in Latin America, as an economy that for over 50 years has been a leader in growth in our region, as a tourist power that is a reference.”
“The main sector of the Dominican Republic is not tourism. We receive more investment, more foreign currency, and more tax revenues from our exports than from tourism. We are an economy that is full of innovation. 35% of our exports are state-of-the-art medical supplies, and 15% are state-of-the-art electronic devices,” he stated. “If you invest in the Dominican Republic, the market you are working in and selling to is a billion people because we have free trade agreements and preferential rates with North America, the European Union, South America, and Central America.”
The Dominican Minister concluded by asking that his country be used as “a gateway for trade for Latin America. Attend to that market of a billion people who are waiting for you and want to work with you. The vast majority of that market speaks your language, shares your history, and sees you as a noble partner with whom we can do great things.
Subsequently, they intervened to present the Dominican institutions Andrés Lugo Risk, Director General of Public-Private Partnerships (DGAPP); Vladimir Pimentel, Deputy Director General of the Export and Investment Center of the Dominican Republic-ProDominica; Yarisol López, Executive Deputy Director of the National Council of Export Free Zones, and Eduardo Rodríguez, Advisor to the General Directorate of Customs.