Director General of The Dominican Republic Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC), Hector Elie Porcella Dumas, has praised relations between his country and the State of Qatar, describing them as cordial and excellent.
In an exclusive interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), he stressed that the close friendship between Qatar and the Dominican Republic, since the advent of the new government of H E President Luis Abinader, has turned into mutual cooperation in the interest of the two countries, citing high-level visits between Doha and Santo Domingo, the last of which was for Qatar, where Vice-President H E Raquel Pea, held several high-level meetings, which dealt with various topics of interest to both sides.
The Dominican official, who recently concluded today a visit to Qatar lasting several days, that in the field of civil aviation, we have always had excellent relations with Qatar, but this is the first time that we discuss mutual cooperation, which allows Qatari technicians to go to the Dominican Republic, and similarly for their counterparts in the Dominican Republic to come to Qatar and learn about its distinguished civil aviation sector.
He noted that the distance is a decisive factor for air communication between the two countries, and that the geographical location of both represents a greater challenge, but he saw that all this did not prevent them from communicating.
Porcella Dumas pointed out, in a related context, that Qatar Airways is one of the best airlines in the world, and that the Dominican Republic is pleased to communicate with Qatar in order to increase tourism exchange from this region to the Caribbean.
He stressed that Qatar has one of the best airport infrastructures in the world, and that it continues to maintain one of the highest safety standards in the civil aviation sector, with advanced technical equipment and high technical efficiency. He stressed that Qatar’s vision for the future will maintain the highest international standards.
In answer to a question about the priorities of civil aviation in terms of continuing to maintain safety, he stressed that this issue represents a challenge for civil aviation authorities in general, due to the current global economic situation, especially since many countries are still dealing with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as because of international wars and conflicts such as Russia-Ukraine conflict, which in their entirety affect global civil aviation and the services it provides.
Porcella Dumas attributed Hamad International Airport preservation of its classification as one of the best airports in the world, to the future vision and the high standards of excellence set by Qatar, among which is that the country has the best airport, one of the best airlines in the world, and has an important regional and international status and position and all this can only be achieved through sound guidance.
He stressed that Qatar was able to maintain the highest standards of compliance with air safety, while the Dominican Republic is considered a leading country in the field of civil aviation for the Caribbean region, noting that these advantages for both countries make the bilateral cooperation between them important to enhance the leadership of civil aviation.
Porcella Dumas stressed that the most important priority is always to maintain the safety of all air operations and to improve international standards set in the field of aviation, indicating that his country’s plan includes air connectivity with Qatar, which will benefit the two countries and their citizens, and also contribute to attracting more foreign investment and trade exchange.
He said that the Dominican Republic is a developed small island country, and that 98 percent of tourists enter it by flights, which helps support and grow its economy.
He also noted the important results of the meeting of the General Assembly of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the World Air Transport Summit, which were recently hosted by Qatar, which allow for better decisions regarding investment and promotion in the aviation and tourism sector, expressing his great optimism for the future of global aviation and to achieve growth in this industry.
