Santo Domingo.- The Foreign Investment Businesses Association (ASIEX) on Thursday said the rule of law is guaranteed in Dominican Republic and despite the world media’s interest in the Barrick Gold dispute, they’re confident it will be resolved.

ASIEX president Salvador Demallistre said there’ll be no problems as long as a balance is kept on how things are stated. "We do have evidence that the issue of Barrick Gold is being looked at abroad and, in that sense, it has to be handled in a well balanced, strategic manner, to keep it from doing more damage, that is, that the cure isn’t worse than the disease."

He said the way the government has been handling the case prevents "the blood from reaching the river" and the Canadian embassy and Ottawa's intervention show an interest to resolve it in the best manner, "and the ASIEX also hopes that it will."

The business leader doubted that a supposed international arbitration allegedly sought by Barrick Gold would materialize, since in his view the two parties take the issue to that extreme, as evidenced by their talks. "We’re confident they’ll agree, that’s what we’ve been able to discern, from both the government as well as the company."

The ASIEX President spoke during the dialogue "Perspectives of the Dominican economy and its implications for business" by economist Bernardo Fuentes, at the restaurant El Olivo, hosted by MAX Insurance underwriters.

More investment in the country

Demallistre said the tourism sector attracts the biggest share of foreign investment, followed by a current boom in mining, energy and communications. He noted that it’s premature to assess its impact at the start of the year, because there are expectations to be fulfilled to boost investment.  "We’re confident however as some of our partners have shown an interest in investing in the country, so this year we’ll very likely surpass the pace of previous years."