Dominican Republic Vice President Raquel Peña Highlights Youth Leadership and Record Foreign Investment

Vice President Raquel Peña addressed university students at the Café Político of the Pontifical Catholic University in Santiago, urging young Dominicans to develop leadership through participation, teamwork and public service. She emphasized the role of digital transformation and artificial‑intelligence tools in modernising government services.

Peña announced that foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Dominican Republic reached a record US$1.5367 billion in the first quarter of 2026, with US$1.0463 billion representing new capital for projects and production capacity expansion. She highlighted a new strategic alliance among Saint‑Gobain, Morteros de Europa and Calizamar aimed at innovation and knowledge transfer in the construction, infrastructure and industrial sectors, noting that construction accounts for about 15 % of the nation’s GDP.

The vice‑president, who also heads the Investment Promotion Cabinet, linked these developments to the country’s institutional stability, legal security and the resilience of its workforce, presenting them as a “fresh breath of air” for the Dominican economy.