Fernández to Lecture in Miami
Leonel Fernández Officially Launches Strategic Alliance Project Between DR and Florida

BY JUAN LUIS FERNáNDEZ

MIAMI, FL.- Today (April 30) Leonel Fernández officially launched the "Dominican Republic/ Florida Strategic Alliance," in conjunction with Florida International University, at a hotel located in a Miami business area.

In the Project, emphasis is made on the large-scale educational and diverse trade exchange, particularly with regard to high technology and collage studies, in both directions.

The nation's ex-president and founder and chief executive office of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development indicated that the Project is the result of talks and dialogues held for the past two years with representatives from FIU's Latin American and Caribbean Center.

Fernández remarked that although it is now when the alliance has come into effect, full projects are already being carried out.

He mentioned among others, the opening of a community college in the new Santo Domingo Province with the collaboration of Daytona Beach Community College, as well as a project of FIU Business School in conjunction with Universidad Interamericana (UNIBE), which shall be begin operating this coming summer.

Furthermore, a group of Dominican businessmen will travel to Florida in June to contact their counterparts in the technological field, in order to promote investments in the nation.

The ex-chief of state pointed out that this proves to be interesting since at the time of formalization of this Strategic Alliance, there are already various concrete actions in place, which may indicate to us that what we have conceived and visualized within the framework of this project will have a significant impact on the Floridian/Dominican relations."

"To us," indicated Fernández, ´´this is an important and interesting try-out, as for the first time, we are looking into and planning our international relations."

Fernández understands that "any nation should try to develop its productive forces and integrate itself into the world economy, thus generating mutually beneficial wealth with nations with whom it may develop them."

The president of the Global Foundation indicated that two years into the preparation of a diagnosis of the Dominican-Floridian relations with technicians from Florida International University, both in Miami and the DR, now "we might want to take a retrospective view on where we want to head for and what objectives mutually beneficial to both parties" we want to accomplish.

Fernández stated that within such perspective and on the basis of this context "we have determined which aspects must be given special attention with the Florida and Dominican Republic relations.

Issues Proposed

Fernández made reference to the most relevant issues contemplated under the Strategic Alliance and contained in the report to be released "Building a Strategic Partnership: Dominican Republic-State of Florida, which includes:

• Air and sea transportation
• Higher education
• Inter-institutional teacher exchange
• Technological comparison programs
• Research and advisory program
• Free zone areas
• Banking area, creation of investment funds, greater participation of Floridian Banking in Dominican Republic
• Insurance Area, Agricultural and Livestock Insurance
• Hospitality and training
• Trading of industrial and agricultural goods

With regard to sea and air transportation, and Customs, Fernández sees a continuous flow of vessels between Florida and Dominican Republic; however, such vessels coming from Dominican ports go through US customs.

Instead of having the customs inspections in the United States as presently done, the ex-Dominican president proposes for an inspection in Dominican ports.

He added that the continuous flow of vessels between the Dominican Republic and Florida may be of further help in the fight against drug trafficking, improve the local and regional security, and also to eliminate the non-tariff barriers, and phytosanitary barriers, which are the barriers that contribute the most to create difficulties in the trade reactions, and at the same time to share common data bases, and eventually the possibility to create a customs union.

"With regard to air transportation," underlined Fernández, "we are hoping for a liberalization of air services. Such liberalization shall lead us to a policy of open skies."

Air Monopoly

He pointed out that "unfortunately," thus far only a virtual monopoly that does not guarantee a quality and low-priced service exists."

"The liberalization of an open sky policy in free markets shall provide a service of higher quality and at more competitive prices."

From this point of view, there are going to be more airlines and airports competing for the transportation market between the Dominican Republic and the State of Florida. And the same measures could be implemented in the sea transportation, wherein customs registries could be performed in the Dominican Republic territorial jurisdiction, so that Florida won't be the first entrance port.

It would then be in the country where the customs inspection, including immigration services, would be performed; thus facilitating the flow of passengers and goods.

These are some of the ideas that in our opinion would be practical, useful, and beneficial as far as sea and air transportation goes," said Fernández.

Education, a Critical Issue

On the other hand, the former head of state, he himself an educator since adolescence, thinks that higher education is a crucial issue for the mutual enrichment. In this regard, he added, education is necessary so that the Dominican Republic may build a human capital required to integrate Florida's economy into and become competitive within the framework of globalization and world economy.

Concerning higher education, "we want more bilateral internship programs, we want Dominican university graduates to be able to do their internship in the state of Florida and vice versa; that is, that Florida students may come to the Dominican Republic to do their internship.

In addition, Fernández mentioned two main aspects of the graduate student exchange program: accreditation and validation of diplomas. This means that university degrees earned in the Dominican Republic may be validated and accredited in the State of Florida.

The intent is for any medical doctor or other graduate from UNIBE, or Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra or Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo to that goes to the State of Florida to get his/her degree validated and accredited and be able to work in Florida, and also the other way around.

With regard to the institutional teacher exchange program, Fernández, who holds honoris causa degrees from the Sorbonne, Harvard, and Seton Hall, stated that professors from various Floridian universities could come to the Dominican Republic to teach one-semester courses, or one to two-weeks long workshops or courses, and that it could be a two-way thing in order to produce a direct contact and mutual learning of the experiences from both places.

Technology is fundamental

With respect to technological comparison programs, in Fernández's opinion such programs are essential in the sense of being able to access state-of-the art technology, modern technology with regard to the educational activity.

In this respect, he said "we have already some experiences conquered in this Florida/ Dominican Republic project, as in the past two years we have been able to hold three videoconferencing between the Dominican Republic and Florida.

Partakers in these technological activities included representatives from the various Dominican universities interacting with Florida International University, University of South Florida, Daytona Beach Community College, as well as business representatives that are part of the Florida/Dominican Republic Strategic Alliance.

The Daytona Beach Community College has a world excellence Technology Center, and the Miami-Dade Community College a project called ECO, which has to do with technologies of the Americas.

"It is our wish that this technological knowledge may be effectively transferred to the academic field in the Dominican Republic, and that our students have the opportunity, concurrently with Florida students, to learn everything about information technology," said Fernández.

Additionally, the former president wants Dominican youth to have the opportunity to get trained in order to meet the job requirements and demands of the companies in the High-tech corridor of Miami and West Palm Beach. The aim here is to create for students the same work tools, the same training means to enter a demanding labor market.

Other aspects that Fernández wishes to include are distance education programs, which in his opinion, are of an extraordinary use at present.

The ex-president, writer, attorney, and politician aims at two things: extend the compulsory education to high school, that is, to make education compulsory from kindergarten to twelfth grade, instead of from kindergarten to sixth grade the way it is today, and also to have bilingual education, as it occurs to some extent in certain local private schools.

This would entail to have teachers trained to teach both in English and Spanish.

Free Zones in Technology

Concerning free zones, the ex-president indicated that Dominican Republic aims not only at working on textiles, where it has succeeded, but also at entering higher technology markets.

The State of Florida is the key partner for the country in such technology markets.

Corridors in such areas make Florida fifth in such field, which is the largest as far as technological development goes.

"To me the creation of business and education clusters between Dominican Republic free zones and technological firms in the State of Florida is of major relevancy," expressed Fernández. He added that "we can carry this out by having Dominican businessmen visit technological companies, here in the State of Florida." Fernández indicated that occasionally, a company would have to train its labor force in a project, and it is there where the so-called business and entrepreneurial clusters in universities and community colleges intervene.

Further, added Fernández, such colleges or universities may organize some sort of program specifically designed to train such potential workers for the specific and concrete program that the company is in need of.

Then such alliance is going to be extremely important on equal terms between companies and education centers," said FUNGLODE's chief executive officer, "by developing complementary plants, seeking to obtain, on such basis, technological subcontracts between Florida and Dominican Republic."

The idea is for a Florida-based technological company to outsource part of the product from a Dominican company based in the Dominican Republic, while a Dominican company in turn, already consolidated in the field of textiles, may outsource with a company to establish in Haiti, thus producing a dynamics in the island's economy.

Fernández also highlighted the expansion in the banking area, the creation of investment funds for mutual benefits, insurance including agricultural and livestock insurance, hospitality and training, greater cooperation in tourist services, etc. During the alliance launching and report release, Dr. Eduardo A. Gamarra, director of the Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University acted as master of ceremony. Others present include José de La Torre, Dean of the Graduate Business School; Alvah H. Chapman, Jr.; Nancy Bailey, Curriculum and Instruction Vice President at Daytona Beach Community College; Manny Mencía, Vice President of the International Business Development Center, in representation of Florida's Governor, Jeb Bush; and José Rojas, The Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, from the International Service Group, and Florida's Import Services Program.

MIAMI, FLORIDA, April 30, 2003.

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