EXIM Signs $1 Billion Memorandum of Understanding with the Dominican Republic's Banco Nacional de las Exportaciones (BANDEX) to Promote Economic Cooperation and Business Development Opportunities
WASHINGTON - Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last week with Banco Nacional de las Exportaciones (BANDEX), the official export credit provider of the Dominican Republic, aimed at enhancing trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Chairman Reed signed the agreement Friday in a virtual ceremony at EXIM headquarters in Washington. BANDEX Director General Juan Mustafa Michel signed the agreement at BANDEX headquarters in Santo Domingo. Also attending the signing ceremony were BANDEX General Secretary Miriam Stern Velazquez in Santo Domingo along with EXIM Chief Banking Officer Stephen Renna, EXIM Vice President of Global Infrastructure Annette Maresh, and EXIM Assistant General Counsel Erin Staton in Washington.
EXIM Chairman Kimberly Reed participates in the virtual MOU Signing Ceremony with (clockwise from top center) BANDEX Director General Juan Mustafa Michel and EXIM's Annette Maresh, Stephen Renna, Jane Lemons, and Erin Staton.
The MOU follows a U.S. government delegation visit to the Dominican Republic for bilateral meetings in October that included EXIM Chief Banking Officer Stephen Renna along with representatives of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and the National Security Council. In addition, Chairman Reed met in February with U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Robin S. Bernstein.
Under the MOU, EXIM and BANDEX agree to explore and identify potential opportunities for EXIM financing in a total aggregate amount of up to $1 billion, which include, but are not limited to, opportunities in agricultural projects; environmentally beneficial projects; infrastructure, including ports, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, potable water, wastewater treatment and power, including renewable energy; safety and security, including non-military border protection such as electronic screening, small patrol boats and radars, etc.; technology, including cybersecurity, weather warning systems, etc.; telecommunications, including 5G, broadcast radio and TV; and health care infrastructure, including training, state-of-the-art medical equipment, expansion of clinics, hospitals, telemedicine and vaccine distribution.
"This MOU affirms EXIM's commitment to diverse potential projects in the Dominican Republic, including in agriculture, infrastructure, safety and security, technology, telecommunications, health care infrastructure, and environmentally beneficial projects," said Chairman Reed. "I was extremely honored to partner with Director General Juan Mustafa Michel in signing this agreement. I look forward to a fruitful friendship between the United States and the Dominican Republic as the Dominican people gain greater access to high-quality 'Made in the USA' goods and services."
"With this initiative, we continue to strengthen relationships with our main commercial partner, the United States. We open great opportunities in the execution of key projects for the export sector and the productive development of the Dominican Republic through financial products provided by EXIM Bank. We thank EXIM for the opportunity to work together for the growth of both nations," said BANDEX Director General Juan Mustafa Michel.
For more information about EXIM products and financing, please contact EXIM at finance@exim.gov.
ABOUT EXIM:
EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.
For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.