Santo Domingo, RD.- With the aim of strengthening commercial ties and the establishment of Swedish companies in the Dominican Republic, the executive director of the Export and Investment Center of the Dominican Republic (ProDominicana), Biviana Riveiro Disla, participated in a special mission to present commercial opportunities, take advantage of nearshoring and trade agreements with the European Union and the Caribbean; and deploy actions that allow deepening business possibilities in different sectors such as: mining, tourism, medical services, real estate sector, energy, aviation, free zones, among others.
The executive director participated in various meetings with business entities and government figures, with the purpose of identifying investment opportunities and strategic alliances with companies from that country that would strengthen the growth of commercial exchange.
Rivero reported that the trade exchange between the Dominican Republic and Sweden between 2017 and 2022 reached US$529 million, with exports representing 55% for a total of US$290 million exported during this period. Likewise, he indicated that Dominican exports to Sweden grew by 46% in 2022 compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019.
In that sense, the products exported to Sweden in 2022 are: ferronickel US$29.4 million, bananas US$16.2 million, rum US$1.2 million, dental floss US$0.8 million and shoes US$0.7 million.
Between 2018 and June 2023, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows from Sweden amounted to US$40 million. The amount of USD$11.7 million of ED received in 2022 represents a growth of the 48.1% compared to 2021. During the first half of 2023, FDI reached USD$5.4 million.
Likewise, during 2022 the arrival of Swedish tourists stood at 4,153 Swedes for an increase of 155% year-on-year. Meanwhile, for the period January-June 2023, the country received 3,035 Swedish visitors, which denotes that growth will also continue this year.
During the mission, Riveiro held various meetings, among them the meeting with business sweden, where he presented the panorama of the country to Mr. Mikael Johansson, global head of the Mining and Smart Industry Program and new materials; and with Mr. Nicolás Urbina, Project Manager for Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean. Likewise, he was accompanied in this plenary session by Mr. Carlos Vicioso, Minister Counselor and in Charge of Business, and Counselor Raúl Hernández, in charge of the Commercial Section of our Embassy.
Jointly, the executive director held a meeting with Mr. Nils Ekman, vice president of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce with the interest of sharing business issues for both nations and coordinating trade missions, as well as monitoring ongoing projects.