DR and the USA sign a bilateral agreement for 251 million dollars
The President of the Republic, Luis Abinader, the Minister of Economy, Planning, and Development, Miguel Ceara Hatton, and the Charge d’Affaires of the United States Embassy, Robert W. Thomas, signed a bilateral agreement for 251 million dollars that launches the cooperation strategy for the next five years of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the country.
This bilateral agreement follows up on the high-level dialogue and joint declaration on institutional reforms carried out on April 28th between the Dominican Government and the United States Government, where they committed to dedicating efforts to support important issues such as police reform, the fight against corruption, citizen security, the strengthening of mechanisms to improve the transparency and independence of State oversight bodies, the fight against human trafficking, among others.
The Charge d’Affaires of the United States Embassy, Robert W. Thomas, stressed that the objectives of the agreement will respond to the priority areas described in the National Development Strategy of the Dominican Republic and the priorities of the administration of President Luis Abinader.
He also pointed out that the agreement supports investing in the conservation of the environment and the use of renewable energy, improving health and other public services for a healthier and more productive society.
The main goal of the agreement is to promote a safer, more inclusive, and the prosperous Dominican Republic that advances local, border, and regional resilience focused on several pillars.
The first approach is policy reform and effective governance focused on transparency, accountability, equity, social and environmental protection, and also includes legal and regulatory reforms.
This pillar seeks to identify practical solutions for policies that can improve public services. Another approach to this pillar is to work on public policies that seek collective solutions for marginalized communities and promote a more inclusive civil society.
The second pillar of the agreement is to improve the efficiency of public health services, such as access to clean water, basic education, and electrical wiring.
This pillar will promote the strengthening of the justice sector, the provision of health services, alliances with the private sector to co-create and co-execute initiatives that support service systems, that identify solutions to environmental challenges.
The third and final pillar is local sustainability and resilience through development initiatives and solutions created and led at the local level. Coalition building and investment in local organizations will be encouraged to promote youth development, prevent crime and violence.
Finally, this pillar seeks to strengthen and improve the quality of health and HIV services.
The signing of the bilateral agreement was carried out at the Pediatric Foundation for a Tomorrow, an organization that has improved the lives of 1,700 young mothers with USAID funds, many of the victims of gender violence, early union, and adolescent pregnancy by providing psychosocial support, educational opportunities, and vocational training necessary to be empowered agents of change.
From 1962 to date, the United States, through USAID, has allocated 1.8 billion dollars for development projects in the Dominican Republic.