HSE receives the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic for lecture on trade, tourism and bilateral relations

Academics and students of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs and of the School of Foreign Languages were presented with a unique lecture from His Excellency Frank Hans Dannenberg Castellanos, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic in Moscow. His frank assessments on the position of Latin American countries and their relations with Russia have set the stage for future cooperation between HSE and countries of the Caribbean Basin.

On November 10, 2022, the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Russia, His Excellency, Mr. Frank Hans Dannenberg Castellanos, accompanied by the Embassy Counselor, Mr. Nelson Ortega, visited the Higher School of Economics. The Ambassador gave a lecture for students and academics of the faculty entitled " Dominican Republic: history of its economic development since the 1990s."

Before the lecture, the Ambassador was received by HSE Vice-Rector for International Relations Victoria Panova. https://www.hse.ru/news/life/795341927.html

During the lecture, the Ambassador noted that the most pressing issues to the development of his country's economy are trade in agricultural products and tourism - areas in which the Dominican Republic has significant comparative advantages. Russian students of Spanish language, as well as students from Latin American countries of the educational programs "World Economy", "Foreign Languages ​​and Intercultural Communications" and "International Relations", got acquainted with the evolution of Russian-Dominican relations, not only in its political dimension, but also commercial, which, according to Mr. Ambassador, are developing quite successfully. The Ambassador presented cutting edge data on the current state of Dominican economy, foreign direct investments and human development.

In his capacity of former Vice-Minister of Tourism and representative of major Pan-American companies of the field, Mr. Dannenberg Castellanos has a large experience in the tourism sector. He noted a significant increase of the flow of Russian tourists to his country over the past decade. This performance became under pressure since the pandemic, but the Ambassador is positive that new flights departing from CIS countries will guarantee the maintenance of strong social ties.

Following his informative and lively lecture, students from countries such as Russia, Belarus, Ecuador, Spain and Brazil posed questions about the Dominican Republic's current strategies to address new geopolitical challenges. The Ambassador expressed optimism about the preservation of the independent position of the countries of Latin America and the future of Russian-Dominican relations.

The head of the School of the International Regional Studies of the Faculty of World Economy, Professor Olga Volosyuk, thanked the diplomatic representatives of the Dominican Republic for the lecture and invited them to take part in other university events related to Latin America.