Santiago – On Wednesday, April 30, U.S. Ambassador, James Brewster, began a three-day visit to the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, where he had the opportunity to meet with key representatives from the academic, cultural and business fields. Ambassador Brewster was accompanied by his husband, Mr. Bob Satawake.
On his first day in Santiago, Ambassador Brewster paid a courtesy visit to the Santiago Governor, Aura Toribio and Mayor of the city, Dr. Gilberto Serulle. Also, the U.S. diplomat visited the M Group, where he was received by Fernando Capellan, founder and president of one of the most important free zone consortium in the country.
Ambassador Brewster also visited the Catholic University (PUCMM), where he was received by the Monsignor Agripino Nuñez Collado, University Rector and a delegation of other scholars. After finalizing his tour of the campus, Ambassador Brewster attended a luncheon with university board members, hosted by Monsignor Nuñez at his residence.
Included in his itinerary, the U.S. diplomat paid a visit to the Association for Incorporated Development (APEDI) and the Binational Center, where he met with the directors of the institution. During his visit to the binational center, Ambassador Brewster awarded two Ipads to the winners of the U.S. Embassy contest “A Poem to Mother Earth,” commemorating International Earth Day. The social media contest winners were Samuel Lopez Chavez from the Santiago Polytechnic School and Edimer Moreta from the Gregorio Hernandez School.
On the second day of the visit in Santiago, Ambassador Brewster visited two projects funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). First was the Community House of Justice of Cienfuegos, one of five community courts that received US$ 1.3 million to provide legal services to marginalized groups. Ambassador Brewster’s also visited the Rafaela Jiminián Cross Public School, which is part of the “Youth Alert” project, receiving a total of US$20 million dollars in funds, to develop technical training programs for at-risk youth promoting their social inclusion and positive contribution to society.
After visiting both projects, Ambassador Brewster headed towards the Centro Leon, one of the most prestigious and traditional cultural centers in the Cibao region. After the tour, the U.S. diplomat was a guest speaker at the monthly luncheon of the American Chamber of Commerce Santiago chapter (AMCHAMRD), where he discussed connecting opportunities with the Cibao region.
In the afternoon, Agricultural University Rector, Mr. Benito Ferreira met with Ambassador Brewster, toured the facilities and participated in the traditional tree planting ceremony.
Last on Thursday agenda, Ambassador Brewster met with members of the Northern Region Industries Association (AIREN), accompanied by U.S. Embassy Economic and Political Section officers. During the evening, Mr. Rafael Emilio Yunen hosted a dinner in honor of Ambassador Brewster and Mr. Satawake.
