To promote technical and technological cooperation, innovation, and digital transformation at the national level, as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MESCYT), the Government Office of Information and Communication Technologies (OGCIT) and the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (INDOTEL) of the Dominican Republic signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Latin American Cooperation of Advanced Networks, RedCLARA.

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Higher Education, Franklin García Fermín; the Director General of OGCIT and Executive Director of the Cabinet for Innovation and Digital Development, Bartolomé Pujals; the President of the Board of Directors of INDOTEL, Nelson Arroyo Perdomo; and the Director of International Cooperation, Academic Relations and Communications of RedCLARA, Mark Urban.

The Memorandum of Understanding will provide a framework for collaboration to promote the establishment of a National Research and Education Network (NREN) in the Caribbean country, linking universities and research centers nationally and with their counterparts in the region, and helping to promote collaboration in science, technology and innovation. Last week, RedCLARA and INDOTEL held a workshop with various stakeholders to outline the roadmap towards this goal.

The agreement also establishes the promotion and support of the process of open strategic dialogues carried out by RedCLARA in the framework of the BELLA II project, which aims to contribute to the consolidation of the regional digital ecosystem and promote digital transformation.

It also frames the support to the articulation of national actors interested in the BELLA II project, including universities, research centers, NGOs, and civil society. With the signing of this agreement, it is also expected that in the future and through the RNIE, universities and research centers in the Dominican Republic, as well as other entities, will be able to take advantage of the services offered by RedCLARA and the benefits of participating in it, develop research projects using the advanced networks and encourage the participation of researchers, teachers and students of the country in the RedCLARA working groups and communities for the strengthening of science and education in the country, among others.

“The signing of this agreement is important for the collaboration and development of science and research in the Dominican Republic, and also represents a boost for meaningful connectivity and human-centered digital transformation in the Caribbean. RedCLARA will fully support the country in the consolidation of its NREN,” said Mark Urban.