Diplomatic relations between the Dominican Republic and the Republic of India were signed in 1999. Following the establishment of these relations, the government of the Dominican Republic opened a permanent mission in New Delhi in 2006. The announcement, made in December 2020 by the Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs, of the upcoming opening of an Indian embassy based in Santo Domingo marks a new chapter in the bilateral relation and the strengthening of ties between the two countries.

The Dominican Republic and India share democratic institutions, adherence to the rule of law, the principle of solidarity, and the respect of the United Nations charter and international law. These values ​​constitute the foundations of our bilateral relationship and guide our cooperation at the multilateral level.

A fruitful collaboration in the United Nations and in other international forums has led to exchanges of support and common positions. Both countries recognize the need for a renewed global order that takes into account the potential of South-South relations and the urgency to act together to preserve the future of the planet through initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance.

Frequent visits by dignitaries, senior officials, and delegations from one country to the other are a testimony of the dynamism of our bilateral engagements. In 2006, the Minister of External Affairs of the Dominican Republic, Carlos Morales Troncoso, led a delegation to India that included the ministers in charge of the promotion of exports and investments, higher education, science and technology, as well as the vice minister of tourism. President Leonel Fernández made the first official visit of a Dominican head of state to India in February 2011.

Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs of India, Rao Inderjit Singh, Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor, V.K. Singh and Shri V. Muraleedharan visited the Dominican Republic in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2016 and 2019, respectively.

Training and exchange of good practices have constituted the two main axes of the cooperation between India and the Dominican Republic. Both parties have expressed their willingness to continue working together and to identify new initiatives.

Within the framework of the ITEC program, Dominican professionals have been receiving training since 1999 in Indian institutions in various disciplines. A Center of Excellence for Information Technologies set up in 2011 in Santiago, with the support of the Indian government, operated with three Indian instructors for a period of two years. In October-November 2019, the first special course for Dominican diplomats was held in the Sushma Swaraj Diplomatic Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of India donated medicines and materials to the Dominican Republic in April and July 2019 to strengthen its ability to deal with the virus.

Bilateral trade has shown sustained growth in the last decade, standing in 2018 at around 800 million USD, with a positive balance for the Dominican Republic. That year, the Indian market established itself as the third destination for Dominican exports according to the Foreign Trade Yearbook of the National Statistical Office of the Dominican Republic. The main products exported by the Dominican Republic to India in 2018 were gold, ferronickel and cocoa beans. The same year, India sold in the Dominican Republic pharmaceutical products, motor vehicles, cotton textiles, and crustaceans.