Riyadh, December 13th – The first meeting of the Cuba-Saudi Arabia Joint Business Council was held virtually from the respective capitals, Havana and Riyadh.
The Cuban part was chaired by the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Antonio Carricarte Corona, accompanied by Homero Saker Rivero, senior specialist for International Relations. The Saudi counterpart was led by Mr. Mishal bin Rakin bin Hathlin, President of the Saudi-Latin American Business Council, who represented the President of the Federation of Saudi Chambers (FSC), Mr. Hassan Muajeb Al-Hwaizy, accompanied by other officials at that entity. The Cuban Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Vladimir Gonzalez Quesada, also participated in the meeting as a guest.
The Saudi delegation celebrated the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding last November 27th to create the Joint Business Council, as well as the opportunity to hold this first work meeting aimed to promote economic and commercial ties between the Kingdom and the Island, and to explore investment possibilities, which corresponds to the objectives that the Arab nation has set in its Vision 2030 to diversify and develop the economy.
For his part, Carricarte highlighted the great transformations that Saudi Arabia has experienced in recent years, which have turned it into a regional power with the capacity to expand its economic and commercial relations. He noted that in this context, the Cuba's interest in promoting exchange with the Kingdom in different sectors is inserted for the benefit of both countries and peoples.
When speaking, Ambassador Vladimir thanked the opportunity to participate in the meeting of the Joint Business Council, whose creation has been a very important step in the efforts to promote bilateral economic and commercial ties to bring them to the same level of the excellent political-diplomatic relations.
He recalled his first interview with the president of the FSC in September, marking a starting point for a fluid communication between that institution and the Cuban Embassy in Riyadh. This later resulted in Mr. Al-Hwaizy's fruitful meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, on the occasion of his official visit to the Kingdom in October. There, a greater rapprochement was agreed between the respective chambers of commerce, which we are witnessing today. (EmbaCuba Arabia Saudita)