SANTO DOMINGO – The Dominican government and the French Development Agency (AFD) launched the “Sustainable and Inclusive Public Finances” , with the aim of contributing to the Dominican Republic’s efforts in combating climate change, managing natural disaster risks, and promoting gender equality.
In that regard, on Tuesday, the Vice Minister of International Cooperation of the Ministry of the Presidency, Olaya Dotel ; the Technical Vice Minister of Planning and Development of the Ministry of Women, Addys Then Marte ; the Vice Minister of Budget and Accounting of the Ministry of Finance and Economy, José Rijo Presbot ; and the Deputy Director of the AFD in the country, François Carcel , signed the memorandum of understanding that marks the beginning of the project.
This technical cooperation project is funded by the AFD with a non-reimbursable grant of €600,000 , benefiting the Ministry of Women, the Directorate-General for Budget, and the Directorate-General for Public Investment of the Ministry of Finance and Economy. Coordination for project implementation will be handled by Expertise France , a member of the AFD Group.
During the event, Vice Minister Olaya Dotel stated that the Dominican Republic is moving forward with this project towards a more inclusive, responsible and transparent public management , in line with the National Development Strategy (END) and the Sustainable Development Goals.
For her part, Deputy Minister Addys Then Marte praised the vision of gender equality, climate action and risk management promoted by this agreement signed with the AFD.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister José Rijo Presbot said that “this project will allow us to systematize experiences, identify good practices and generate solutions adapted to our context.”.
Likewise, the Director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carlos Hernández , maintained that taking into account gender considerations, climate action and disaster risk management fosters long-term national development that involves all citizens.
On behalf of the AFD office in the country, the deputy director, François Carcel, explained that this project is part of the strategy of this cooperation agency that seeks to strengthen the capacity of the Dominican State to design and implement more inclusive, resilient and sustainable public policies.
This initiative stems from the "Climate Action for Sustainable Development" program, which is phase 1 of a budget support initiative co-financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the French Development Agency . It aims to assist the country in integrating climate change, gender, and natural disaster risk management approaches into the budget cycle and the national public investment system.
