Remarks as prepared
I am very pleased to welcome you to this reception in honor of Mrs. Jocelyn Brown, Deputy Administrator at the Office of Capacity Building and Development of the United States Department of Agriculture.
This visit is a sample of the long and fruitful cooperation between the United States and the Dominican Republic on agricultural activities, which is represented by an annual bilateral trade of approximately 1,600 Million dollars, in products as diverse as fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food products, sugar, tobacco, cocoa, corn and soybean oil, among others.
In addition to this, it is a great pleasure to be here tonight with a group of fellows who have traveled to the United States to participate in one of our many COCHRAN Exchange Programs in recent years. They have traveled to Washington DC, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Texas, Ohio, Iowa and Georgia, among other destinations. In fact, the aim of the COCHRAN Program has been to offer everyone the opportunity to share knowledge and experiences with their counterparts in the United States and other countries, as well as to learn about agriculture in the United States and around the world, and apply and share these experiences with friends and colleagues.
We appreciate the presence of each and every one of you, and we thank you for joining us to give a warm welcome our visitor Mrs. Jocelyn Brown, to whom I wish the best of success in her mission.
Thank you very much for being with us today.
