HAVANA— The Cuba-Vietnam Business Forum held on Friday as part of the program of the official visit of Prime Minister Manuel Marrero wrapped up with the signing of ten agreements, including memorandums of understanding, letter of intent and supply and distribution contracts.
Inaugurating the event, which was attended by representatives of more than 70 local companies, the Cuban head of government said that Vietnam is consolidating as the main investor and the second largest trading partner of Cuba in the Asian region, as the Caribbean country gives high priority to such links and favors the growing presence of Vietnamese businessmen.
One of the main objectives of the visit, the first in his capacity as Prime Minister, is – he stressed – to promote and raise the effectiveness of economic cooperation and maintain continued support for the stability and diversification of the bilateral trade relationship, as embodied in the Cuba-Vietnam Joint Declaration, issued in September 2021.
According to Marrero, “there are strengths that propitiate a favorable environment for the consolidation of trade and investment ties, such as the strength of our relationship, the complementarity of our economies, political stability, skilled labor force and, at the same time, an important control of COVID-19”.
Among the measures that may be attractive to Vietnamese businessmen, he pointed out the opening of wholesale and retail trade to foreign investment. And, associated with this, Cuba has two key incentives: underutilized infrastructure and significant unmet demand.
Regarding the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), he said that, with the presence of the Vietnamese company Vimariel as concessionaire, it is confirmed as a strategic enclave for investment in Cuba, which is to become a bridge to the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The renewable energy, tourism and food production projects, key sectors for Cuba’s economic development plans, coincide with those with the greatest potential to increase the presence of Vietnamese businessmen, Marrero Cruz summarized.
The Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, presented the new portfolio of business opportunities, which includes 678 projects; and the Cuban exportable offer, with more than 350 goods and services.
Likewise, Ana Teresa Igarza, general director of the ZEDM, explained the advantages of investing there, and informed that Vietnam ranks second in the issuance of business to that enclave.
Later, during the signing of the agreements, the BioCubaFarma Business Group, the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, and the ZED Mariel were the Cuban entities represented, in areas ranging from cooperation in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, the production of tissue paper, the development of an agricultural and livestock project and electricity generation in photovoltaic solar parks.
Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK