As part of the working visit of His Excellency Mr. Ales Cantarutti, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia, the Cuba-Slovenia business forum was held on Wednesday at the Melía Habana Hotel.
In the opening remarks, the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Roberto López Hernández, highlighted Cuba's willingness to strengthen trade relations between both nations.
"Cuba advances in the improvement of its economic model in a harmonious, integral and planned way, with the purpose of building a prosperous socialism. We bet on the diversification of our business partners and the increase in foreign investment. Slovenian companies would have an important role in our aspirations, "he said.
López Hernández pointed out that the country must reduce the import dependency and increase its productive capacities with high technologies and efficient production chains that contribute to the process of import substitution, "it is necessary to invest in infrastructure, strengthen and modernize the Cuban industry and increase our exportable supply. of traditional and non-traditional products ".
He also referred to the incipient results of the bilateral agreement between Cuba and Slovenia, mainly characterized by Cuban imports from the Slovenian market, with exports from the island being low, "we must work to diversify our trading partners and achieve insert our products in their market . "
For his part Ales Cantarutti expressed his gratitude for the excellent diplomatic relations between Slovenia and Cuba, and stressed that this link could be a starting point for the development of collaboration in different spheres: "Slovenia wants to diversify its economy and we are interested in interact with countries in the region where Cuba is a very prominent nation, "he stressed.
The president of the Chamber of Commerce of Cuba, Orlando Hernández Guillen, explained that the Slovenian market also serves as a pivot to expand Cuban products to other regions of Europe, and in turn introduce Slovenian products in the markets of the region.
Eighteen Cuban companies and 15 Slovenian companies participate in this business forum with the aim of promoting bilateral economic cooperation and the diversification of trade between Cuba and Slovenia. Sectors such as biopharmaceutical, tourism, informatics and communications, among others, provide products and services with marketing possibilities in both markets.
(Embacuba Austria)