CABEI increases its donation to US$2.4 million to address COVID-19 in the Dominican Republic
These resources are in addition to the donation that CABEI granted in March 2020, along with the delivery of extraction kits and other medical supplies and equipment to address the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts and effects.
Santo Domingo, March 26th, 2021.- The Central American Bank for Economic (CABEI) signed an agreement granting non-reimbursable financial cooperation of up to US$500,000 to the Dominican government to continue contributing to curbing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The signing of the agreement was led by the Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Raquel Peña. The agreement signed between the Dominican government and the CABEI Representative Office in the Dominican Republic states that in coordination with the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, they will be responsible for the follow-up of all matters related to this cooperation and that the cooperation will be supervised in accordance with the norms and procedures established by CABEI for this purpose.
The document specifies that the resources of this cooperation will be delivered through a single disbursement to the executing agency designated by the beneficiary. This executing agency must also collaborate with CABEI in organizing and carrying out the field visits that CABEI deems appropriate.
In this regard, CABEI Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, said that the region's challenge is to overcome the health crisis, which is why he believes that this donation, in addition to other initiatives in the Dominican Republic, will make it possible to combat the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and provide greater assistance to the sectors that need it most.
Miguel Ceara Hatton, Minister of Economy, indicated that the situation that the world is experiencing with the pandemic can only be solved through a scaffolding of solidarity and joint work among all countries, while thanking CABEI for its show of solidarity and assured the efficient use of these resources by the Dominican government.
CABEI Director for the Dominican Republic, Hostos Rizik, expressed the bank's support for the Dominican government in its struggles to confront the pandemic, reactivate the economy, recover jobs and return to normalcy.
"COVID, which has come to change all paradigms, affecting tourism, commerce, all productive sectors of society, has hit us. This is why we have been working with the Bank to reformulate our cooperation and today we are delivering this cooperation which, together with the emergency aid, the donation of medical supplies and the donation from the Korea Trust Fund of masks and supplies for hospitals (donation in process), adds up to a total of US$2.406 million in CABEI cooperation to address the impacts and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the DR," added Rizik.
The event, held at CABEI's Santo Domingo headquarters, was attended by the Vice Minister of Public Credit, María José Martínez; the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development's Vice Minister of International Cooperation, Olaya Dotel; and the Republic's Controller General, Catalino Correa.
CABEI aims to position itself as a benchmark for multilateral banking in the country and offer a first-class service. Currently, in terms of lending to the Dominican Republic, CABEI has financed US$249.6 million for the construction of the Monte Grande Phase III multipurpose dam, as well as the approval of a US$100 million global line of credit for Banco Popular, US$100 million for Banco de Reservas and US$30 million for BANDEX, in addition to the construction of a gas pipeline with a US$54 million loan to AES Dominicana and all its contributions to mitigate the negative impacts caused by the pandemic.