Santo Domingo.- The Round Table of Commonwealth Countries in the Dominican Republic on Monday organized a panel to discuss the unprecedented economic thrust in an Asian nation, dubbed “The miracle of Singapore,” as part of a collaboration agreement with Ibero-Americana university, UNIBE.
Roundtable president Fernando Gonalez Nicolas noted that as a tiny, poor, underdeveloped country without natural resources, “managed to overcome poverty in a significant and exemplary manner,” which could well serve as a guide for Dominican Republic’s push toward development.
He said Singapore, a Commonwealth country, adopted measures to overcome poverty in less than 30 years mostly thanks to promoting foreign investment and international trade.
“I am certain the panelists agree that the most important measures Singapore took to progress were investing in education; prioritize meritocracy; zero tolerance on corruption and drugs and encourage foreign investment and international trade,” the business leader said.
The panel formed by economists Juan Guiliani Cury and Andres Dauhajre (Jr.), journalist Jorge Pineda and Unibe School of Business director Erik Perez Vega as moderator, spoke on the various aspects of how Singapore became an economic powerhouse, as evidenced by its around US$60.0 billion in foreign investment last year alone.
Dauhajre provided detailed figures on the Asian country´s economy; Guiliani presented a slide show as an overview of the nation whereas Pineda read some famous quotes by the late Lee Kwan Yew, founder of Singapore, home to 5.7 million people making it one of the world´s most densely populated islands.
“We hope this discussion will contribute to the realization that it is possible for the Dominican Republic to achieve wellbeing and development, if it takes similar measures to those of Singapore,” Gonzalez said to an audience of mostly Unibe students, who also directed questions to the panelists.
David Soares, CEO of the mining company Falcondo Dominicana, Monika Harel, president of Merit media group, and CDN TV anchor Elisa Mariot were also present in the discussion, introduced by Loraine Amell Bogaert, dean of Unibe International Affairs.