Above: Santo Domingo

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The European Investment Bank’s Caribbean office is moving from Martinique to the Dominican Republic, the bank announced this week.

The host country agreement was signed in Brussels on Thursday by Dominican Republic Ambassador Alejandro Gonzalez Pons and Pim van Ballekom, the EIB vice president responsible for lending in the Caribbean.

The new office will be located with the European Union Delegation Santo Domingo.

“The European Investment Bank has a strong commitment to the Caribbean and supporting economic growth and job creation across the region,” van Ballekom said. “We greatly appreciate the offer of hospitality from the Dominican Republic demonstrated by the new host country agreement and look forward to increasing engagement from a more strategic location in the Caribbean.”

The EIB has provided around $1.83 billion in loans and equity investment since beginning operations in the region. Its regional office had been located in Martinique’s Fort de France since 2007.

“The government and people of the Dominican Republic look forward to welcoming the European Investment Bank regional representation in the Caribbean to its new headquarters in Santo Domingo,” Pons said. “The EIB is a key long-term partner for investment in the Dominican Republic, with a number of significant recent engagements to support investment in energy and small companies specializing in financial services within the country and across the Caribbean.”