Santo Domingo, 4 July 2024 - The Vice President of the Dominican Republic, Raquel Peña, led the opening of the country’s fourth National Quality Forum, an event in which the new National Quality Policy (NQP) 2024-2028 was presented, in the presence of Katja Afheldt, EU Ambassador to the D.R.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), through its EU-funded Quality Infrastructure component of the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) “Business Friendly” Programme, contributed to the development of this updated policy. UNIDO’s Director General Gerd Müller provided a foreword to the document, in which he emphasized that the Dominican Republic is one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America and the Caribbean and that the creation of this second NQP reaffirms the Government’s commitment to achieving excellence in its industrial sector and aligning with global standards of quality and sustainability.

Presenting a copy of the NQP to the Vice President, Víctor Bisonó, Minister of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs as well as President of the Dominican Republic’s Quality Council (CODOCA) commented: “We understand that quality must be assimilated as a lifestyle, since it is present in every moment of our days. That is why we are betting heavily on promoting a quality culture and quality education, because we are convinced that by informing and empowering people, we will be able to promote the change we want”.

In her address to the Forum, Vice President Peña said that the new National Quality Policy will be a roadmap with actions and strategies to strengthen and elevate the national quality infrastructure. “With this document we are charting the path so that in the future this continues to be a sign of identity of our development,” she added. Likewise, she indicated that the National Quality Forum is an example of the Government's commitment to promoting a culture of quality in the Dominican nation, and highlighted that it will allow sharing experiences and knowledge with the various actors involved in the fulfillment of public policies.

The Vice Minister of Industrial Development and interim general secretary of CODOCA, Fantino Polanco presented a summary of the NQP 2024-2028, followed by a keynote address from Nigel Croft, UNIDO’s Senior International Expert in Quality Infrastructure, on the topic of “Broad and Intelligent Quality Infrastructure”.

For more information, please contact:

Bernard Bau

Head,

Competitiveness, Quality and Compliance Unit, UNIDO

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