Dominica–Spain relations are the bilateral and diplomatic relations between these two countries. Dominica has no Embassy resident in Spain. You have to go to the Dominican Embassy in the United Kingdom. Spain also does not have a resident embassy in Dominica, but the Spanish embassy in Kingston, Jamaica is accredited for this country. In addition, Spain has a consulate in Dominica.
Historical relations
arrived in Dominica on November 3 on 1493, being the first island discovered on his second trip to America. The name with which Columbus baptizes the island is derived from the name of the day of the week in which they see the island, Sunday. Spanish ships arrived frequently during the 16th century, but fierce resistance by the Caribs deterred Spain from their efforts to settle there.
Diplomatic relations
Bilateral relations are concentrated in the framework of Dominica's membership of international organizations, regional cooperation projects and in the exchange of support for candidates in multilateral organizations. The cooperation is channeled in general terms through the Spain-CARICOM Joint Fund of AECID, which executes projects of regional scope. Although no specific project is being developed on the island, Dominica benefits from regional projects, such as the Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology in Agriculture CEATA.
Economic relations
There is practically no bilateral trade. The main products that Spain exports to Dominica vary greatly depending on the years without a consistent pattern of export specialization in the last four years. It also happens in imports from Dominica, where the figures that are shuffled are very small. In 2012 and 2013, the main Spanish exports to Dominica have been industrial technology, textiles and pharmaceuticals.
Cooperation
Cooperation is channeled through the Spain-Caribbean Community Fund of AECID. The cooperation program with CARICOM is directed mainly to support regional integration and institutional strengthening of the Caribbean Community. The interlocutor of the Spanish Cooperation is the CARICOM Secretariat whose headquarters are in Georgetown, and all the actions are included within the Regional Cooperation Program with CARICOM. Dominica benefits from projects of regional scope, such as the Regional Center for Advanced Technologies for High-Performance Crops for training in new agricultural technologies, in process of execution in Jamaica. In terms of health, preferential attention is given to noncommunicable diseases, an area less attended by other donors. The "Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control Project" stands out for its cross-cutting gender component, having already held 2 regional training seminars in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, in the months of June and July 2009 with provision of colposcopes for all CARICOM countries. Specifically, Princess Margaret Hospital de Roseau received the donation of a colposcope in 2010. From the Spanish Embassy in Dominica, with residence in Kingston, a work to support the teaching of Spanish is carried out through the donation of AVE scholarships for learning Spanish. Because Dominica is among the Caribbean countries that will soon benefit from a Schengen visa exemption, Spain organized a seminar on this subject in Madrid in May 2014, which was attended by an expert from Dominica. The Minister of Tourism of Dominica, Ian Douglas, participated in the High Level Seminar on Innovative Practices in Tourism for the Caribbean held in Madrid from June 9 to 14, 2014. The Seminar was jointly organized by the State Secretary of State of International Cooperation and for Ibero-America and the Ministry of Tourism, with the collaboration of Turespaña, SEGITTUR and the School of Industrial Organization.
In 2008, the Secretariat of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States signed an agreement with the Spanish Diplomatic School for advice on the formation of the diplomatic career and the foreign service of the OECS member countries. In December 2009, the Council of Ministers approved a grant amounting to 50,000 euros to support the creation of a future OECS Diplomatic School and a future Common Foreign Service of the Eastern Caribbean.
