French-Dominican ties ‘much closer than people imagine’

Santo Domingo.- France-Dominican Republic ties are much closerthan most people can imagine. French companies are involved in national megaprojects such as the Santo Domingo Metro and Metro Cable, which will link the SantoDomingo North and East with the National District.

French ambassador José Gómez on Tuesday said yet anotherFrench company -Vinci Aeroport- manages six national airports, which account for40% of Dominican Republic’s passenger traffic, while in March the multinationaloil company Total, also French, will formally announce its operations in thecountry, after it acquired a 70% stake in the Dominican company V Energy, with 130Shell gas stations also becoming part of Total.

Adding to this are theFrench Development Agency’s (AFP) assistance in very specific areas such as theLa Nueva Barquita housing project, the Technical-Vocational Training Institute (INFOTEP)and the Advanced Diagnostic Medicine and Telemedicine Center (Cedimat).

"The French Development Agency is contributing around 450million dollars in funding for Dominican Republic and will increase even morenext year," Gómez said, quoted by elcaribe.com.do.