The President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic, Alfredo Pacheco Osoria, paid an official visit to Switzerland between 5 and 8 March.
He was received by his Swiss counterpart, National Council president Martin Candinas (The Centre, GR), and by Council of States president Brigitte Häberli-Koller (The Centre, TG) for a courtesy visit.

The official day in Parliament took place on Tuesday 7 March 2023. This was the first meeting of parliamentary speakers between Switzerland and the Dominican Republic, which enjoy harmonious diplomatic relations. Mr Pacheco Osoria was accompanied by a delegation from the Chamber of Deputies. The parliamentary visit provided an opportunity to deepen mutual understanding between the two countries, with discussions - among other things - on Swiss democracy and the application of its principles in the daily life of the population and in parliamentary activity.

Economic relations

In recent years, economic and trade exchanges with the Dominican Republic have intensified: in 2022, Switzerland imported goods worth around CHF 1 billion - mainly precious stones and metals as well as agricultural products, making it the Dominican Republic's third largest export partner, after the United States and Haiti. The two countries have also concluded bilateral agreements on air transport and investment protection.

Switzerland imports gold from the Dominican Republic. The discussions on economic relations addressed the growing attention being paid in Switzerland to responsible entrepreneurship. Martin Candinas mentioned its importance for sustainable development during the exchanges, underlining Switzerland's commitment to the implementation of the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.


Domestic politics and international context

Talks also covered the challenges currently facing the Dominican Republic including the effects of climate change, challenges in terms of energy supply and political efforts to address them; and in view of the importance of tourism to the Dominican Republic, the effects of the war in Ukraine, inflation and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Relations with Haiti were also discussed. Switzerland has been supporting development projects in Haiti since the late 1990s through its long-term development cooperation strategy. It also strengthened its humanitarian commitment in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake in 2010 and several subsequent natural disasters (hurricanes) in 2016 and 2017.

Photos of the official visit