Cuba interested in strengthening cooperation with businesses of EAEU countries - EEC
MINSK. Dec 2 (Interfax) - Prospects for expanding trade and economic ties between the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Cuba have been discussed in Havana during a meeting of the joint commission for interaction between the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) and the Cuban government, the EEC's press service said on Tuesday.
The meeting was held under the co-chairmanship of EEC Integration and Macroeconomics Minister Daniyar Imanaliyev and Cuban Council of Ministers Deputy Chairman and Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga.
"The parties considered prospects for interaction in such areas as industry, the agricultural sector, transport and tourism, the application of sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary measures and consumer protection. Key emphasis was placed on establishing and developing direct contacts between business circles. A growing interest of businesses from EAEU states and Cuba in congress and exhibition events held on their territories was noted," the press service said.
Imanaliyev and Perez-Oliva Fraga summarized the results of implementing the plan of activities between the EEC and the Cuban government, it said.
"The plan has been fully implemented; the sectoral seminars held made it possible to acquaint Cuban partners in detail with the regulatory practices of the EAEU, as well as to familiarize ourselves with Cuban initiatives in the fields of logistics, biotechnology, agriculture and industry. Work on the draft of a new plan, which we will implement until 2030, is actively underway; it is currently being considered in the EEC with the participation of the union countries," Imanaliyev was quoted by the press service as saying.
In turn, Perez-Oliva Fraga proposed including in the draft of the new plan measures that would stimulate cooperation between business circles and contribute to the practical implementation of joint projects.
"Such promising key drivers of trade growth as cooperation in biotechnology and creating a logistics hub on the island were considered. These projects could not only increase the level of mutual trade but also facilitate access for companies from EAEU countries to promising markets in Latin American and Caribbean countries," the EEC said.
Comprehensive work is underway to develop the institution of an observer state within the EAEU, Imanaliyev said. "This is one of the ways to solve the task of ensuring the functioning of the EAEU as a pole of economic attraction in the international arena. In 2026, it is planned that areas of economic cooperation of mutual interest will be determined in order to qualitatively realize the trade and economic potential of the union," he said.
