The American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AMCHAMDR) and the Consular Corps accredited in the Dominican Republic are united by a strong interest in promoting foreign investment and foreign trade.

For this reason, AMCHAMDR President Roberto Herrera and Consular Corps Dean José Manuel Romero held a meeting to discuss issues of common interest related to economic revitalization and strengthening cooperative relations between the two entities.

Herrera (InterEnergy Group) was elected President of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce for the 2021-2022 term at the Annual General Meeting held last April. He is joined in his tenure by Ricardo Pérez, Hanes Caribe Inc., and Edwin De los Santos, AES Dominicana, as Vice Presidents; Francesca Rainieri, Grupo Puntacana, as Treasurer; and María Waleska Álvarez, Nap del Caribe, as Secretary.

Elected as US-Link members, listed alphabetically by company, were Juana Barceló, president of Barrick Pueblo Viejo; Juan Roberto Amell, Director of Corporate Affairs at Bepensa; Juan O. Velázquez, vice president and administrator of Central Romana Corporation; Carlos José Martí, president of Grupo Martí; and Fernando Villanueva, president of Viamar SA.

The following were elected as associate members, listed alphabetically by company: Ana Figueiredo, president of Altice Dominicana; José A. Álvarez, managing partner of Álvarez y Sánchez; Lucile Houellemont, president of Dominican Watchman; Ligia Bonetti, president of Grupo SID; Eduardo Cruz, president of Humano Seguros; Marco Cabral, general manager of Impresora del Yaque; and María Esther Valiente, director of corporate affairs at Valiente Fernández.

Romero is the dean of the Consular Corps accredited in the Dominican Republic, an entity established on December 4, 1952, whose function is to bring together representatives of the countries that maintain diplomatic relations with the country with the aim of reaffirming and strengthening ties between the Government, its authorities, and the States represented.

The Consular Corps is made up of the honorary consuls Fernando González Nicolás of the Kingdom of Malaysia; María José Turull of the Kingdom of Thailand; Gustavo Vega of Poland; Federico Reyes of Trinidad and Tobago; Gina Victoriano, vice consul of the Czech Republic; and Francisco Zakarias-Bendek, consul of the Republic of Cyprus.
Also present were John Pierre Bahsa Ward of Lebanon; Margarita de los Santos of the Republic of Malta; Raiza Rodríguez de Cruz of Paraguay; Virgilio Pérez Bernal of El Salvador; Juan José Leira of the Kingdom of Spain in Constanza; Jean Antonio Hache of the United Mexican States in Santiago; Bettina Panzardi of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay in Punta Cana; Sixto Alfredo Inchaustegui of the Republic of Montenegro; and Emilio Hasbún of Barbados.

José Manuel Romero holds a degree in taxation from Georgetown University and works in the corporate sector as the director of corporate and international tax at KPMG. He also serves on several boards of directors and working committees at other institutions, including the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE), the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), and the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAMDR).

In teaching and philanthropy, he serves as a professor of taxation at Barna Management School, a member of the board of directors of the Heriberto Pieter Cancer Hospital (HOHP), and a member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.