Caribbean Export and Business Support Organizations

BSO SUCCESS HIGHLIGHTS

Dominican Republic Export and Investment Centre (CEI-RD) TheDominicanRepublic Export and Investment Center (CEI-RD) is the official Agency responsible for the promotion of international trade and FDI in the Dominican Republic. It was created as an amalgamation of the Center for the Promotion of Exports of the Dominican Republic (CEDOPEX) and the Office for the Promotion of Investments of the Dominican Republic (OPI-RD) in 2003. The Centre promotes local exports and foreign investments, aides the non-traditional export sector, and attracts foreign capitals that use advanced technological processes to help increase the technical expertise of SMEs in the Dominican Republic. In 2011 and 2012, under the 10th EDF, CEI-RD has participated in numerous Agency programmes implemented in support of the regional IPAs, and in association with CAIPA. These include missions to the Europe and South America; the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) in Trinidad and Tobago; and Regional Investment Promotion Conferences, among others. In 2013, CEI- RD participated in, and completed the first level of the Regional Trade Information Training Programme (RTITP). This initiative is part of a wider programme of increasing the competitiveness of the regional private sector and involves the development of a regional market intelligence portal and the formation of management structures at the national and regional levels that would allow for more effective engagement of the private sector by BSOs based on the trade information needs for SMEs that have been identified. The training was delivered by ITC, Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and Euromonitor International. Subsequent to this training, CEI-RD has been able to efficiently access tools and databases for information on international markets. The Centre has also enhanced the organizational skills of staff in the collecting, processing and compilation of

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