From May 2 to 6, Industry Minister, Donville Inniss, along with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC), Sonja Trotman, lead a team comprising Government and private sector officials on a political-commercial mission to Cuba. The working program included the realization of a Barbados-Cuba Business Forum on “Doing Business in Cuba”, in which is participating around 10 Barbadian companies, and official contacts with the Cuban Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Rodrigo Malmierca, as well as with the Minister of Industry, Salvador Pardo Cruz.
According minister Inniss, now that diplomatic ties have been formally re-established between Cuba and the United States, Barbados is looking to add its name to the list of CARICOM countries attempting to enter the Cuban market. On the other hand, Mrs. Trotman explained that the BIDC is targeting what it considered to be emerging markets, because even though it had negotiated trade agreements with countries such as Cuba, Barbados had not yet taken full advantage of these agreements. Meetings with the Cuban Trade Promotion Agency, which is similar to the BIDC; discussions with Cuba’s Chamber of Commerce; as well as the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the BIDC and the Cuban Chamber of Commerce to facilitate business in the future, will also be part of the agenda.
Nine companies will be making the trip to Cuba. They are: Barbados’ leading biscuit company, WIBISCO; Caribbean Label Crafts, which is already a major exporter throughout the region and in some Spanish-speaking countries; McBride Caribbean, which specializes in household products such as insecticide; Automotive Art; Good Time Snacks Limited; Michael Greaves Associates, a logistics consulting firm; TORQUE-EPCM, an engineering company; Roberts Manufacturing Co. Ltd.; and Caribbean Wellness Centre Co. Ltd., which is doing the second visit trying to set business in health services.