Fighting for funds

[NewsWhore]

The DR is asking for 20 development indicators to be revised in order for the country to become eligible for money from the Millennium Account. On Monday it was announced that the DR and Guatemala were the only CAFTA countries that didn't qualify for the funds that would help the countries meet the Millennium Development Goals. The Foreign Commerce Department (DICOEX), a department of the Industry and Commerce Ministry, said that it would work to access the funds. DICOEX will work with the Hacienda, Economic, Planning and Development ministries, and the Customs Department as well as with the National Competitiveness Council (CNC) to try and access the funds. Chief among these indicators are corruption, governance, and improving the general population's quality of life. Jose E. Signoret, the director of the Office for Strengthening Commercial Capacity, part of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said that, "a country does not have to score high on all 20 indicators, but some are critical for the Dominican Republic". Because the DR has a higher per capita income than Honduras and Nicaragua, there are stricter rules to follow, according to the original article in Listin Diario.

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