In England, Dominican Central banker touts economic success

London.- Dominican Republic Central banker Héctor Valdez Albizu on Tuesday spokein a forum of the Bank of England officials and experts on monetary policy, andthe resulting performance of the Dominican economy, highlighting the measures tomitigate the effects of the global economic environment.

At the conference held at the Bank ofEngland, Valdez noted that economic growth has averaged 5.4% during the last 20years, one of the region’s highest, based on solid macroeconomic fundamentalsand the implementation of structural reforms which have made it possible toimprove aspects relevant to long-term growth such as infrastructure, trade liberalizationand human capital.

"The Central Bank successfullyimplemented the Inflation Targeting Scheme since 2012, making importantprogress in the design and operation of monetary policy. Since itsimplementation, this monetary policy framework has contributed to a significantreduction in the level and volatility of inflation in the Dominican Republic,"the official said in an emailed statement.

Valdez also stressed that the positiveexternal and fiscal performance was accompanied by strong domestic demand,driven by investment and consumption. "In fact, the Dominican economy grewyear-on-year around 7% in 2014 and 2015, and 6.9% in January-September 2016,projecting a growth of 6.5% by the end of the year, consolidating itself as thefastest growing economy In Latin America for the third consecutive year."

"This sustained growth of our economyhas been reflected in a reduction in the unemployment rate, going from 8.8% inJuly-September 2014 to 7.4% in April-June 2016, for a reduction of 1.4% accordingto the new Continuous Labor Force Survey. To get an idea of ??what this means,in those seven quarters 280,366 new net employees were generated," Valdezsaid.

In his speech, the Dominican Central Banker referredto the economic and commercial ties between the Dominican Republic and England,which have been quadrupled during the last 15 years, with Dominican exports toEngland showing growth of 10% per year, being the main export products,bananas, mangoes and avocados, while British imports have increased by 12%annually on average, with imports led by vehicles, liquors and medicines.