Keynote Speaker: President, Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader

Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona is the current president of the Dominican Republic, known for his decisive leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and his focus on economic revitalization and anti-corruption initiatives. 

In 2015, Abinader emerged as the presidential candidate for the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) and quickly established himself as a formidable political force. Despite the challenges of running against an incumbent government, he secured over 35 percent of the votes in the 2016 election. His perseverance paid off in 2020 when he was elected president. Under his administration, the Dominican Republic received international acclaim for its recovery efforts in tourism overall economic management and significant contribution to democracy in his country and the region.

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A leading figure in international politics, his diplomatic efforts insisted in various international forums on the need for intervention by the international community to bring peace to Haiti, until the United Nations Security Council recently approved a resolution to intervene to eliminate the criminal gangs operating in that country.

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In 2023, Abinader announced his re-election bid and won the PRM primaries with over 90 percent of the vote. On May 19, 2024, he was re-elected with more than 57 percent of the presidential vote and obtaining for his party and allies a more than qualified majority in both chambers of the national congress. However, despite being able to do otherwise, President Abinader used his majorities to strengthen democracy in his country, making the judiciary independent and limiting the exercise of power to only two consecutive terms, starting with himself.

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President Abinader studied economics at the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo and pursued postgraduate studies in project management, corporate finance, and advanced management at institutions like Harvard University and Dartmouth College.