Embassy of Cuba Newsletter - 16 November 2014

Embassy of Cuba in New Zealand

Newsletter

No.35 16th November2014

Upcoming events

November

19th – 22nd National congress on Oncology

In this issue

Resume US-Cuba relations, says NYT editor

Comic books for US diplomats in Havana

Germans reject blockade against Cuba

Cuba says ‘End Israeli occupation’

Cuba submits human rights and peace resolutions to the UN

Time highlights Cuban African efforts

Ebola bio-security under discussion in Havana

Cuban team saves over 292,000 Guatemalans

32nd Havana Fair a major landmark

Agriculture business opportunities at Cuban Fair

Varadero welcomes one million tourists

Cuba's foreign investment act: guarantees and special taxes

EU praises Cuba’s foreign investment policy

New advances in cancer immunotherapy by Cuba

'Fruit of the palm' to treat prostate disease

Plant destroys substances depleting ozone layer

Cuba to enhance its renewable energy sources

Cuban first vice president meets with Portugal's deputy prime minister

POLITICS

Resume US-Cuba relations, says NYT editor

For the first time in over 50 years, the political situation in the United States and Cuba is favourable for resumption of bilateral relations, Andrew Rosenthal, New York Times editor, said over international radio last week.

BBC British Network broadcast an interview with Rosenthal who defended his decision to keep publishing news and opinions about Cuba - five articles in the last month - covering the embargo and other hostile tactics.

“There’s an increasing number of voices in the United States who advocate for a greater rapprochement with Havana,” Rosenthal said in the broadcast, adding that his journal would continue unreservedly to maintain its Cuban coverage.

In Washington, he said, it is being argued that president Barack Obama has an important window of opportunity to signal change on his Cuba policy, in the run-up to the upcoming Summit of the Americas to be held in April, 2015 in Panama.

Rosenthal also said what the Times ultimately wants is to "influence US policymakers as they keep pondering a Cuba policy”.

The New York Times is considered by many the most influential paper of the United States. Its editorials tend to be discussed in political circles in Washington and they frequently have international repercussions, commented the BBC interviewer.

The five editorials, published in English and Spanish are:

"Time to end the embargo on Cuba" (October 11),

"The Impressive Contribution of Cuba in the Struggle against Ebola" (October 19)

"Electoral changes on Cuba policy " (October 25).

"Prisoners exchange with Cuba (November 2)

"Cuba, Misadventures of US in Trying to Overturn its Regime (November 9, 2014).

Comic books for US diplomats in Havana

The New York Times’ fifth article on Cuba in less than a month lists many of the efforts by the United States to destabilise the Cuban government.

In the latest article - “In Cuba, Misadventures in Regime Change” - the NYT reviews Washington's hostile efforts since the Helms-Burton Act in the year 1996.

It explains how the US government came to spend 264 million dollars to try to achieve ‘regime change’ for the island and admits that far from having achieved their goals, the initiatives were counterproductive. The funds, it says "have been a magnet for charlatans, swindlers and good intentions gone awry.

"The stealthy programs have increased hostility between the two nations, provided Cuba with a trove of propaganda fodder and stymied opportunities to cooperate in areas of mutual interest.”

It accuses the US Agency for International Development (USAID) of carrying out cloak-and-dagger missions to implement illegal projects in Cuba, noting that spending on these initiatives surged from a few million a year to more than $20 million in 2004, during the first years of the George W. Bush administration (2001-2009). At that time most contracts were awarded without much oversight, to newly formed Cuban-American groups.

The New York Times explains how one of those groups invested the money "on a legally questionable global lobbying effort to persuade foreign governments to support America’s unpopular embargo.”

Another group sent loads of comic books to the American diplomatic mission in Havana, bewildering officials there, says the newspaper, adding "the money was also used to buy food and clothes, but there was no way to track how much reached relatives of political prisoners, the intended recipients".

According to a report published in November 2006 by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), "one contractor used the pro-democracy money to buy 'a gas chain saw, computer gaming equipment and software (including Nintendo Game Boys and Sony PlayStations), a mountain bike, leather coats, cashmere sweaters, crab meat and Godiva chocolates,' purchases he was unable to justify to auditors."

The New York Times adds that despite the results of the GAO probe in 2006, Congress appropriated $45 million for the programmes, a record amount, two years later.

"In December 2009, Cuban authorities arrested an American subcontractor who travelled to the island five times on USAID business, posing as a tourist to smuggle communication equipment," notes the newspaper.

After that, "senior officials at USAID and the State Department were startled by the risks being taken, and some argued that the covert programmes were counterproductive and should be stopped. But Cuban-American lawmakers fought vigorously to keep them alive", says the editorial.

"After Mr. Gross's arrest, the aid agency stopped sending American contractors to Cuba, but it allowed its contractors to recruit Latin Americans for secret missions that were sometimes detected by the Cuban intelligence services."

The newspaper recalls that "an investigation by The Associated Press published in April revealed a controversial programme carried out during the Obama administration. Between 2009 and 2012, Creative Associates International, a Washington firm, built a rudimentary text messaging system similar to Twitter, known as ZunZuneo, Cuban slang for a hummingbird's tweet.

"A second AP report revealed in August that USAID had been sending young Latin Americans to Cuba to identify 'potential social change actors,' under the pretext of organizing gatherings like an HIV prevention workshop," points out The New York Times.

The editorial notes that instead of stealthy efforts to overthrow the government, American policy makers should recognize that the most it can hope to accomplish is to positively influence Cuba’s evolution toward a more open society.

“That is more likely to come about through stronger diplomatic relations than subterfuge," it concludes.

Germans reject blockade against Cuba

The German government has once again condemned the United States blockade against Cuba.

In reply to a question from Socialist MEP Wolfgang Gehrcke during parliamentary debate, minister of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Michael Roth, highlighted the annual vote of Germany in the general assembly of the United Nations.

As in previous years, the European Union has voted once more for the lifting of the US blockade against Cuba, he said.

The minister of state answered several questions from MEP Gehrcke on the German government's position on the blockade and its extraterritorial effects.

According to Roth, among the European countries there is a 'great consensus' with regard to rejecting Washington's policy. There were very few members of the United States at the international level who support this decision, he said, referring to the votes in the annual UN General Assembly.

In response to Gehrcke's question on the German reasons for rejection of the blockade, Roth said: 'The German government believes the US measures are illegal in view of their extraterritorial effects.'

In addition, the German government was willing to support legally and politically the German companies that suffer sanctions by the US authorities.

Cuba says ‘End Israeli occupation’

Cuba has expressed its support for the draft resolution presented by Palestine to the UN Security Council to demand a swift end to the Israeli occupation, in place since 1967.

“We fully support the initiative to set a deadline for the end of the military occupation, and to enable the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to an independent state, with the pre-1967 borders, and East Jerusalem as its capital” secretary of the Cuban Council of State, Homero Acosta, told media.

He spoke in a debate of the Fourth Committee of the General Assembly on the work of the special committee responsible for investigating Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the inhabitants of Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.

The construction and expansion of illegal settlements and a wall in the West Bank were unacceptable, he said, as was the destruction and confiscation of land and property and the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of families.

He noted his country’s condemnation of the recent announcement to build more than two thousand new Israeli settlements in occupied East Jerusalem.

"These are aggressive colonial policies and practices that deliberately contravene UN resolutions, international law, international humanitarian law and constitute a threat to international and regional peace and security," he warned.

He reiterated Cuba's solidarity with the Palestinian people, who in July and August suffered 50 days of bombing and ground incursions in the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 2,200 and wounding11,100 — mostly children, women and elderly.

Acosta cited the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, where bombs had devastated the civilian infrastructure, and the need for Israel to end the eight-year blockade of the territory to allow aid to be delivered to victims.

The day before, Palestinian ambassador and permanent UN observer Riyad Mansour, told reporters of his hope that the Security Council would submit the initiative to a vote this month in order to stop the occupation within a given time frame.

The diplomat urged the body of 15 member states to act with responsibility, given their mandate to guarantee world peace.

"The moment to recognize the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and to put an end to 47 years of occupation has arrived. Those who continue to deny this are responsible for what happens and the violence that this could generate in the future,” he added.

Cuba submits human rights and peace resolutions to the UN

The permanent Cuban mission at the United Nations has submitted four draft resolutions aimed at strengthening human rights and peace on the planet.

The documents, which were presented at the Third Commission of the UN General Assembly dealing with social, humanitarian and cultural issues, will be analyzed by that body later this month. If the commission adopts the draft resolutions, these will be then submitted to the plenary session of all 139 UN member states for their consideration.

Co-sponsors of the Cuban documents are Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

The draft resolutions include a project on the use of mercenaries as a violation of human rights and hindrance of the rights of the peoples to self-determination. The document states that the use, recruitment, financing, protection and training of mercenaries is of great concern to all states as these actions violate the principles of the UN Charter.

Cuba also submitted other draft resolutions on the right to food, the promotion of democratic and equalitarian international order, and the promotion of peace as a crucial element for the full enjoyment of human rights by all persons.

HEALTH

Time highlights Cuban African efforts

In Cuba, medical internationalism is a national priority, and that explains its collective readiness to fight the Ebola virus epidemic, writes Alexandra Sifferlin in Time magazine.

'Why is Cuba is so good at fighting Ebola?’ highlights the heroism shown in becoming the first nation to send hundreds of health workers to West Africa.

It also noted that despite being a poor country, Cuba is one of the nations most committed to medical help in crisis zones.

Sifferlin writes that Cuba has offered doctors and nurses to West Africa and at this moment 165 of them are there, in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO).

More than 50,000 health workers from Cuba are working in 66 countries all over the world, recorded Time.

Sifferlin also talked about the response system prepared to face international crises established by the Cuban government through its health services.

“When Cuban doctors graduate they have the opportunity to be volunteers for medical missions or natural catastrophes ”he noted, emphasizing that the Cuban model was a message for the international community saying that if you work to improve health then preparedness is more sustainable than being trapped by crisis.

Ebola bio-security under discussion in Havana

Bio-security in Ebola disease is one of the issues being discussed this week at the first international course for the prevention and confrontation of the disease in Havana.

Biological risks, precaution based on transmission, decontamination, handling of corpses, safe burials, and use of personal protective equipment (EPP), were also on the programme.

Madelyn Garces, epidemiologist at the Tropical Medicine Institute (IPK), said that aspects related to infection epidemiology, clinical management, diagnosis, service organization, human factors in dangerous epidemics, and social communication will be also analyzed.

In addition to lectures, professionals from 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries could work in the IPK training area, visit the isolation unit, and carry out practical classes of dressing and undressing with EPP, said Garces.

Opening the course Cuban deputy public health minister Marieta Cutiño said that the initiative was the result of the technical meeting of experts and managers for the prevention of the epidemic, which took place in Cuba on October 29-30.

IPK director Jorge Perez Avila referred to the world situation of Ebola virus, with more than 13,000 patients in West Africa, and high mortality of between 50 and 60 percent of cases.

Ebola disease is considered a public health emergency of international importance, with real potential for expansion to other geographic areas and countries. No one is exempt from danger, Perez Avila said.

Cuban team saves over 292,000 Guatemalans

Cuban health personnel have saved the lives of 292,640 Guatemalans since the end of the 1990s according to estimates issued by the Cuban Medical Brigade.

This year to October,9,544 Guatemalans were saved while 1,543,910 patients received medical treatment. And in 16 years of work, Cuban doctors on mission in Guatemala carried out 37,256, 511 consultations.

From February 2008 to October 31 this year, 134,988 cases had surgery under the Operacion Milagro programme in Guatemala, for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases.

Now with the inauguration of the ophthalmology hospital in Mixco, four such centres give free treatment to a low-income population.

At present, a total of 468 health workers carry out their task in Guatemala, 52 of whom belong to the Operacion Milagro programme and 156 have degrees in nursing.

They work in 16 out of the 22 Guatemalan departments, forming 23 medical brigades helping with the general health program and the four ophthalmology hospitals.

Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina has publicly praised the work of the Cubans.

MARKETING

32nd Havana Fair a major landmark

Council of Ministers vice president Ricardo Cabrisas says the 32nd international Fair in Havana (FIHAV 2014) will be a milestone as the first dedicated to promotion of foreign investment.

Cabrisas spoke on the closing night at the award ceremony, summarizing how the show’s ‘positive balance’ was shown through a bigger technological development, a higher level of training and the quality of the exhibits.

More efficient use of the most modern techniques of promotion of international standard had been an important factor.

The launch of the business projects portfolio in priority sectors for the development of economic and social spheres in Cuba such as renewable sources of energy, the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology, oil, mining, the manufacturing industry and tourism, among others, gave opportunities for potential investor partnerships.

Cabrisas noted the significant interest FIHAV 2014 drawn by the special development zone Mariel. Many visitors had received information about the incentives offered to attract foreign capital.

The projects portfolio did not just represent a list of interests but also well-defined objectives in the socio-economic development programme of the country which would involve the participation of foreign capital.

FIHAV 2014 has now closed its doors after being in session since November 2 attracting exhibitors from more than 60 nations.

Read more:

Investor Guide

Portfolio opportunities

Legal Framework Mariel Special Zone

Agriculture business opportunities at Cuban Fair

Foreign investment opportunities in agriculture, food, and sugar were presented during a business workshop before closure of the 32nd Havana International Trade Fair, FIHAV 2014.

Also included was the launch of Integrated Automotive Services Companies and On Cuba, as well as a Cuban-Polish business forum, the latter at the Central Pavilion’s Executive Hall of the fairgrounds, where the companies from the host country were exhibiting their products.

Cuban business meetings took place with Ecuador, Mexico, Russia, Brazil and Argentina, in their respective pavilions, and the National Days of Brazil and Germany were held during this multi-sector trade exchange, the main event in Cuba and one of the largest ones of the region, in the presence of exhibitors from 60 countries.

4,000 businessmen, governmental delegations of nearly 30 nations, among them Uruguay, Portugal and El Salvador, attended this event as well as representatives of chamber of commerce delegations from America, Europe, and other regions.

Foreign investment and the presentation of business opportunities in Cuba, included the Mariel Special Development Zone, were the largest priority in this year’s FIHAV.

Varadero welcomes one million tourists

For the seventh consecutive year Varadero has welcomed a million tourists, from every corner of the world.

Varadero hit the million mark on November 9, an event which was particularly celebrated in the Juan Gualberto Gómez International Airport, since this time the achievement came 19 days earlier than last year.

‘I am very happy,’ said Canadian Robert Desrosier, excited by the special reception he and his wife, Diane Lapierre, received at the airport

MINTUR representative Ivis Fernández had travelled to the airport with other executives from the sector to welcome the visitors. It was the third time the couple had visited, on this occasion to the Melia Las Americas Hotel.

Canada is again the main market for Cuban tourism, providing 38.8% of visitors, an increase of 3.4% over 2013.

A series of improvements on several fronts in Varadero have been made, to ensure the successful operation of tourist facilities this winter.

With 50 hotels and more than 20,000 rooms, Varadero receives a third of all tourists arriving in the country each year. Vacationers appreciate the welcome and good service they receive from employees, and especially the benefits of a peaceful, healthy, safe and secure holiday.

Sector authorities recognize that tourism is essential to increasing the country’s foreign currency income, and that they must achieve maximum competitiveness.

ECONOMICS

Cuba's foreign investment act: guarantees and special taxes

The Law No. 118 on foreign investment is more transparent, an essential element to attract capital and it also provides guarantees to investors and special taxes as fundamental incentives, according to the Cuban minister of foreign trade and foreign investment (MINCEX), Rodrigo Malmierca.

He told media that this new legislation clearly expresses the Cuban Government's will to promote it and its economic objectives, which are priorities for the country's sustainable development.

That gave the law more transparency, an essential element to attract foreign investment, and provides guarantees and special taxes as fundamental incentives. As established by Law No. 77, the new Foreign Investment Act remains committed to stability for investors to enjoy the previously granted benefits.

“We always say that a law, no matter how good it is, does not attract the foreign resources that we need by itself,” noted the minister, who pointed out that it demands a favourable atmosphere for investment, which consists of a good quality legal framework, and political and social stability.

It also demanded security, infrastructure, a good quality of public services and the labour force, as well as the absence of administrative and financial obstacles.

“In our case,” said Malmierca, “we think that this favourable climate exists. In addition, we have the will to correct the errors committed in the past and to strengthen the investors' trust, based on the follow-up and solution of the problems that may hinder the operations with business with foreign investment.”

The main foreign investments that have been made in the country so far come from Spain, Canada, Italy, Venezuela, France and the United Kingdom, and the most strategic sectors in which investments have been made are energy and mines, tourism, the food and light industries, and agriculture.

Regarding the contribution that the business portfolio that has been created can make in this field, Malmierca pointed out that there are very important objectives to fulfill and they are reflected in the projects contained in the portfolio: exporting, joining international value chains, producing more food, modifying the country's productive structure using new technologies.

In addition, he noted, considering the country's demographic transition, diversifying the energy matrix, generating high-quality jobs and productive links with the domestic economy, all of which must be done while protecting the environment.

It is important to say, he explained, that the portfolio will be updated annually, a process that starts in the first semester of every year and ends with its launch at the International Fair of Havana in November.

Malmierca added that in order to design new investment opportunities, as well as to develop business, it will be necessary to make the process of negotiations and approval more rapid and efficient, and it will also be indispensable that we train experts in economic and legal matters related to foreign investment.

These issues, in addition to the quality in treating foreign investment, were fundamental aspects to achieve the objectives, Malmierca stressed.

Read the Law No. 118

EU praises Cuba’s foreign investment policy

European Union ambassador and head of delegation in Havana, Hernán Portocarrero has praised the advantages of Cuba as a foreign capital investment haven. This was the central theme of the 32th International Fair of Havana. It was due to the education level of its workforce, geographical location, image, international recognition and growing regional integration, he said.

He told media the EU was ready to support the island in this strategy as part of the updating of the Cuban economic model.

The country had great opportunities and great challenges, in which European companies could play a part.

Portocarrero said that infrastructure, energy and other projects would all depend on the potential of large companies, so it would have to wait for European business to take notice.

Foreign investment will mean not only more exports and better balance of trade between the two regions, but also to expand the Cuban presence in foreign markets, create jobs, the transfer of technology and diversification of supply with products of higher added value.

He recalled that the EU is the largest investor in Latin America, and what it meant in the Cuban case was reversed with respect to the environment, labour and legal rules, stressing that Cuba has many advantages because any of its products may quickly attain international recognition.

Agriculture was a key, enlarging Cuba’s presence in Europe, increasing its productivity and performance, to replace the high volumes of food imports.

FIHAV 2014 had seen many contacts made and contracts signed. It was clearly far more than a social event but of importance to the Cuban economy.

The European Union has maintained a steady trade with Cuba to become its second partner, trailing only behind Venezuela, with exports of mineral fuels, food, beverages and snuff, while imports are concentrated in machinery, transport equipment, chemicals and manufactured products.

MEDICINE

New advances in cancer immunotherapy by Cuba

High level medical personnel from 15 countries, including Nobel Prize winners in physics, biochemistry and mathematics, will present the latest advances in cancer immunotherapy research in Cuba this month.

Communication specialist at the Molecular Immunology Centre (CIM), Sonia Ponce de León told media that the institution organizes the International Cancer Immunotherapy Workshop every two years. CIM is affiliated with the BioCubaFarma group.

She reported that scientists from CIM will disclose the latest advances in cancer immunotherapy therapy, which has been the principle cause of death in Cuba over the past two years.

The institution develops therapeutic vaccines and monoclonal antibodies which are used to treat different areas and levels of pain, with good results, according to Cuban and foreign experts.

Dr. Yicel Saurez, CIM’s commercial medicine manager, emphasized that during the event the most advanced technology in the world will be presented, in addition to research strategies.

She emphasized that the entire scientific community and many clinical oncologists recognize the contribution that Cuban science and medicines can make to treatment of the illness.

CIM has a portfolio of some 20 products, including medicines which have been fully developed and can be used by patients.

She stated that in regards to research, these pharmaceuticals are grouped into three categories: recombinant proteins, monoclonal antibodies and therapeutic vaccines to treat cancer or autoimmune diseases.

Saurez highlighted CIM exports to more than 30 countries: more than 70 Cuban patents are registered.

On previous occasions, Dr. Agustín Lage Dávila, director of CIM, commented on changes in the clinical cancer treatment paradigm, emphasizing the need to consider advanced cancer as a chronic, incurable but controllable illness.

He also stated that new therapies based on biotechnological products — monoclonal antibodies and vaccines – are focused on combating specific elements of the cancer, extending the duration of treatment with reduced toxicity, combined use, and the ability to be used on elderly people.

He also emphasized that clinical trials must consider rates of survival and quality of life, and be directed toward primary health care.

'Fruit of the palm' to treat prostate disease

A new natural product, taken from the fruits of the palm tree Roystonea Regia, Cuba's national tree, might turn into a very useful medication to treat diseases affecting the prostate.

Doctor Sarahi Mendoza, an researcher from the Natural Products Centre linked to the National Scientific Investigation Centre of Cuba (CENIC), told media at FIHAV that the product, branded as PALMEX, is a very effective medication to treat prostate benign hyperplasia.

"This disease affects a lot of men over 50. It is associated with lower urinary tract symptoms, which are very annoying like increase of liquid, pain, difficulties or urgency to urinate, anything that brings about the increase of size in the prostate," said Dr. Mendoza.

Several clinical trials on the product in Phases I and II were made, and now Phase III, after completing the experimental part, is providing data, and a report, with encouraging results, is under preparation, said Dr. Mendoza.

About four thousand businessmen from more than 60 countries and numerous government officials, chambers of commerce and other related institutions, were attending the Havana event.

Results are pending for awards recognising the most represented country, the best stand and design, the highest quality products and the most visited pavilion, as usual in this event, considered among the most representative of its kind to be held in Latin America.

ENVIRONMENT

Plant destroys substances depleting ozone layer

The first plant in Latin America for destroying substances harmful to the ozone layer will be operational soon in Cuba Salvador Damas, factory deputy technical director told media.

The project will be launched at the Siguaney cement factory in the central province of Sancti Spiritus and is part of a strategy developed by Cuba and the multilateral fund of the Montreal Protocol through the UN Development Program (UNDP). Cuba will have the world’s fifth plant for incineration of harmful gases confirmed project specialist Elier Rodriguez,

The plants objective is to destroy chlorofluocarbons (CFC) also known as Freon in order to secure the region's ecosystem and prevent harmful emissions from reaching the atmosphere. Cuba will contain CFC in refrigeration systems and air conditioning in order to eliminate the compound. Rodriguez confirmed that the government will maintain strict security measures for the incineration that will reach temperatures of over 1,200 degree celsius.

Damas explained that according to the project's timeline, the technical trials and the inauguration of the plant will be carried out with the participation of specialists from the Spanish firm Miesa Exportacion SL. The firm will supply the automated technology he told media.

Cuba has more than 130 tons of Freon 12 and 22 stored according to its Ministry of Science.

CFC is an organic compound made up of carbon, chlorine and fluorine. Due to CFC's contribution to ozone depletion, the international community has called for the phasing out of these compounds under the Montreal Protocol. CFC has been widely used in refrigerants and propellants and in aircraft, ships and large vehicles.

Cuba to enhance its renewable energy sources

The Cuban Government has announced that it seeks to generate 24 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

Cuba's National Electric Development program aims to significantly increase the island's electricity production capacity.

Achieving the target would allow the country to make nearly $780 million annual savings on imports from fossil fuels, which currently makes up 96% of Cuba's electricity source.

According to Energy Monitor Worldwide, if Cuba's power production grows 3 per cent annually, the per-kilowatt cost will decrease from 21 cents at present to 18 cents by 2030.

The Caribbean nation’s current renewable energy output accounts for only 4.3 percent of its total electricity production but the government aims to boost investment by USD$3.5 billion over the next 15 years in order to develop the sector.

During this week's 32nd Havana International Fair, the government presented 246 potential foreign investment projects to strengthen and modernize the island's renewable energy capacity, which would need foreign financing valued at around $9 billion.

Cuba's renewable power projects include the installation of solar and wind farms as well as small hydropower stations. In addition, the government aims to create bioelectric plants, which base their production on the incineration of marabou wood and sugar cane.

Cuban president Raul Castro has shifted its focus away from offshore oil which government officials believe will increase the country's long-term energy independence.

DIPLOMACY

Cuban first vice president meets with Portugal's deputy prime minister

First vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, has received deputy prime minister of the Portuguese Republic, Paulo Portas who is on an official visit to Cuba, leading an important business delegation to attend the International Fair of Havana.

During the cordial meeting, the parties stated the positive development of the bilateral relations. Both conveyed interest in stimulating the investments and businesses of Portuguese entrepreneurs in Cuba, with the opportunities offered by the Cuban Law for Foreign Investment and the Mariel Special Zone of Development.

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