LUIS RODOLFO ABINADER CORONA, President of the Dominican Republic, noted that his Government promoted a free vaccination plan during COVID-19, which implemented full vaccination to 57 per cent of the eligible population. Approximately 70 per cent of its population had at least one dose and more than 10 per cent received a third dose.  These measures enabled the country to register a lethality rate of 1.14 per cent, one of the lowest in the world.  Furthermore, his country made a donation of some 820,000 doses of vaccines to countries in the region.  

Turning to the economic and financial crisis caused by the pandemic, he called for a solution to the enormous indebtedness and liquidity crisis.  In particular, he urged that a mechanism be developed to remedy the unbalanced special drawing rights funds received by different countries in order to ensure resources reach countries really in need.  

Reaffirming his country’s commitment in democracy, human rights and rule of law, he put forward a plan to achieve an economic growth of 10 per cent by the end of 2021 and maintain a growth rate of 5 per cent for the following years.  To this end, he proposed a global transformation that balanced the levels of development and the required standards of CO2 emissions.  In that manner, countries with the largest emissions would pay for the investments to restore natural resources affected by global warming.

In addition, the current financial crisis and higher indebtedness caused by the pandemic could not only be solved by increasing taxes in respective countries, he continued.  Multilateral and bilateral financial institutions should grant credit facilities through transparent, accessible, concerted and non-discriminatory mechanisms to help countries in difficulty quickly regain financial sustainability and access to international financial markets, with preferential rates not affected by the country risk index.

Turning to the crisis in Haiti, he warned that it could be a factor influencing the insecurity in the region.  He called on the international community not to abandon the Haitian people at a time of heightened levels of insecurity.  With the current political division and the presence of criminal gangs, security was the most important and immediate issue in Haiti, he said, stressing that “there is not, nor will there ever be, a Dominican solution to the crisis in Haiti”.