PUNTA CANA — A pivotal moment for global consumer advocacy unfolded this week as the Dominican Republic formally completed its tenure as president of the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network (ICPEN), passing the mantle of global leadership to Georgia during the closing plenary of the network’s annual assembly. The high-profile gathering drew regulatory delegates and consumer protection experts from close to 50 member nations, gathering to review global progress and set priorities for the year ahead.
The formal handover ceremony saw Eddy Alcántara, who led the global network as ICPEN president throughout the 2025-2026 term, officially transfer leadership responsibilities to his successor Irakli Lekvinadze from Georgia. In his farewell address to the assembly, Alcántara outlined the signature achievements advanced under Dominican leadership, highlighting three core areas of progress: deepened cross-border collaboration between consumer protection bodies, enhanced coordinated enforcement action between national regulatory agencies, and targeted new initiatives designed to shield consumers navigating the fast-evolving digital and cross-border commercial landscapes.
Alcántara explained that the Dominican administration prioritized elevating shared global best practices during its tenure, working to create conditions for fairer, more transparent international markets and strengthen uniform enforcement of existing consumer protection regulations across national borders. Beyond policy gains, he emphasized that leading the 50-plus member global network has significantly boosted the Dominican Republic’s standing in international regulatory circles, while reaffirming the nation’s longstanding commitment to upholding fundamental consumer rights for both domestic and cross-border shoppers.
Beyond the leadership transition, this year’s annual assembly provided a critical forum for member states to address the most pressing challenges facing consumers across the globe. Delegates held in-depth discussions on high-priority topics ranging from modern e-commerce regulation and crackdowns on deceptive cross-border business practices to global product safety standards and the consumer risks and opportunities posed by emerging technologies. In a show of widespread approval for the Dominican Republic’s two-year leadership, delegates from multiple member nations publicly praised its proactive policy agenda, and many have already signaled their intention to adopt the consumer protection frameworks developed during its tenure, pointing to the proven positive impacts of those initiatives both in the Dominican Republic and in pilot programs across other member states.