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Belarus-Cuba cooperation prospects outlined
MINSK, 10 November (BelTA) – Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko identified prospects of cooperation during negotiations with Prime Minister of Cuba Manuel Marrero Cruz, BelTA has learned.
Roman Golovchenko said: “Mutual trade in January-September 2023 indicates that we have managed to reverse negative trends and more than triple trade as against January-September 2022. It is important to keep up the pace and ensure further stable growth of bilateral trade.”
The prime minister identified the main promising avenues of Belarus’ cooperation with Cuba. “Products made by our manufacturing sector are known well and enjoy a solid demand in Cuba. Belarusian manufacturers of agricultural machines, trucks, passenger vehicles, municipal vehicles, and other kinds of vehicles and machines are ready to meet all the needs of your country. Besides, this year we’ve managed to substantially step up interaction in agriculture and food deliveries. The export of Belarusian food to Cuba increased as well as shipments from Cuba to Belarus. In addition to trade flows we have to determine mechanisms to realize the projects under consideration in the sphere of joint food production in Cuba,” he noted.
Cuba is known far and wide for its stable and effective healthcare system, this is why expanding cooperation in healthcare is a major priority. “Although mutual deliveries of medical goods, pharmaceutical products are rather intensive, we have to increase trade in these important commodities. In our opinion, it is necessary to step up manufacturing cooperation in the production of medications,” the Belarusian head of government stressed.
Roman Golovchenko went on saying: “We know that ruthless American sanctions do not allow Cuba to buy as much as it needs, this is why in these conditions we have to expand the use of the agreement on mutual deliveries that we’ve signed in order to invigorate trade. Belarusian and Cuban experts are preparing a protocol to this agreement for signing. I suggest promptly reconciling it, signing it, and carrying out the necessary intrastate procedures. The most important matter within the framework of this agreement is to identify the additional commodities, thanks to which we can increase mutual trade. Prices for these commodities should be competitive.”
During the previous meeting, which took place in the Russian city of Sochi, the Cuban prime minister was handed a list of commodities Belarus is interested in. Apart from that, it was mentioned that the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus is ready to expand cooperation in matters of export loans for selling Belarusian goods to Cuba. “Certain progress has already been made to provide lending support for deliveries of Belarusian industrial equipment to Cuba. I suggest that as a result of our talks the Belarusian-Cuban commission on trade and economic cooperation should look at the results in detail and I suggest holding a session of the commission in Minsk in Q1 2024,” Roman Golovchenko added.
“We appreciate the special relations with the brotherly country of Cuba and are ready to advance them across the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation,” he concluded.
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