WASHINGTON – The Dominican Republic's Minister of Tourism, David Collado, and the United States Under Secretary of State, José W. Fernández, concluded negotiations on the open skies treaty between the two countries yesterday, Friday, and announced that the official signing will take place at a later date in a ceremony led by President Luis Abinader at the Dominican National Palace.
The ceremony took place at the U.S. Secretary of State's office in the nation's capital, marking the start of the process to bring the agreement into full operation after more than 25 years of negotiations.
Collado highlighted that this is an achievement for the country's air connectivity, allowing national airlines to fly to any destination in the United States and vice versa for North American airlines, while increasing the country's competitiveness, which should translate into cheaper flights between the two nations.
“Today we have closed this agreement thanks to the vision and commitment of President Luis Abinader and the entire tourism cabinet who have worked to ensure that the country is increasingly better connected by air, and I am proud to announce that it was achieved with the support of all the airports in the country,” Collado explained.
He added that “the Dominican Republic was one of the few countries that did not have an open skies agreement with the United States, and this agreement will mean that Dominicans can come to their country at more competitive prices, as well as increasing the number of tourists arriving from the United States to our country.”.
For his part, Undersecretary Fernández stated that “this agreement strengthens our bilateral relations and will reinforce our strong economic ties,” and he also praised the Dominican Republic’s leadership in the Caribbean and Central America.
The US official said that “this agreement goes beyond a relationship; this agreement is pro-growth, pro-competition, and pro-consumer, and will facilitate more trade, economic exchange between both nations, more tourists, exchange students, and more opportunities for airlines, travel companies, and customers.”.
Collado expressed his gratitude for the support of Dominican airlines in making this possible, as well as the Punta Cana Airport, Cibao Airport, Aerodom, and key industry players such as Antonio Yapor and Monika Infante, along with the Director of Civil Aviation, Héctor Porcella, the President of the Aviation Board, José Marte Piantini, and the Airport Director, Víctor Pichardo. He also highlighted the work of the negotiating team, comprised of Vice Minister Patricia Mejía, attorneys Práxedes Joaquín Castillo and Leonel Melo, and Tourism Legal Consultant Natashú Domínguez.
Representatives of the United States government highlighted the work carried out by the current administration headed by President Abinader to achieve the conclusion of this agreement, since for Americans it is a state policy to establish open skies with their trading partners in order to guarantee greater competitiveness, better antitrust practices and greater openness of the skies for airlines.
The open skies agreement will now go through a routine administrative phase, like all binational treaties, which must also be ratified by the Dominican Congress.
