A delegation from the new heads of the Commercial Sessions of the Dominican Republic’s Diplomatic Missions showed interest in exploring the facilities of Caribbean Industrial Park for foreign investors during a visit on Thursday morning to the Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago (UTESA) and the industrial park.

The delegation, which visited UTESA and toured the facilities of Caribbean Industrial Park, consisted of 25 people, accompanied by Ramón Grullón, thematic advisor for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mirex). Engineer Federico Domínguez, President of the PISANO Board of Directors, was also present.

The delegation was welcomed by the Chancellor of UTESA, Engineer Frank Rodríguez, and Abel Rojas, Executive Vice President of Caribbean Industrial Park.

The commissioners were in Santiago de los Caballeros to visit four free trade zone parks. These diplomats will be representing the Dominican Republic in 25 countries, promoting it as a business opportunity area.

Speaking on the topic, Ramón Grullón stated that this country has everything, including facilities for investment in renewable energy, infrastructure, free trade zones, tourism, among other areas.

He mentioned that the visitors are the new diplomats who will help the country increase exports of Dominican products and attract more foreign investments, alongside the ambassadors.

The welcoming words were given by Chancellor Frank Rodríguez, who shared details about Caribbean Industrial Park and the University-Business link.

Rodríguez recalled that in 1991, the Universidad Tecnológica de Santiago created a unit called University-Business, aimed at maintaining a closer connection with industry and companies. This initiative began to promote the acquisition of businesses that could serve as laboratories for students and teachers in their projects.

Following that model, the university—he added—began by acquiring an agro-business, followed by the newspaper La Información, the most important and one of the oldest newspapers in the country. It also acquired Centro Médico Cibao, one of the leading medical centers here, as well as other projects, including a hotel in Mao and one of the most recent projects, Caribbean Industrial Park.

“So, what the university does is develop these businesses to generate income for us because our mission as a university is to reach the most humble families, the students from low-income backgrounds, so they feel the support of an institution that helps them develop professionally and personally,” he emphasized.

He mentioned that this is the mission of UTESA, a university offering 25 academic programs in various fields, including Health, Engineering, Humanities, and Economics.

He pointed out that UTESA has a student body of over 70,000 students across campuses in Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo, Mao (Valverde), Dajabón, Puerto Plata, Moca, and Gaspar Hernández, the latter two located in the Espaillat province.

Rodríguez extended his support to the commissioners in both commercial and academic aspects.

The Chancellor of UTESA also answered questions from the visitors, who were interested in learning more about the companies operating in Caribbean Industrial Park and the facilities available to investors.

For his part, Mr. Abel Rojas shared the perspectives and new challenges facing Caribbean Industrial Park, stating that it offers, within its modern facilities, all the necessary logistical and infrastructure capabilities for the effective establishment and development of industrial plants.

He emphasized that the park is strategically located in the northern region of the Dominican Republic, one of the countries currently offering the greatest competitive and tax advantages for the establishment of free trade zones.

He further stressed that its central location in Santiago de los Caballeros guarantees an abundant skilled workforce and easy access to transportation routes, ports, and international airports.