Greetings from our Embassy to all participants in this important Cuba-South Africa Business Forum organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Cuba and the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
As it is well known, Cuba and South Africa maintain excellent diplomatic, political, and cooperation relations. In fact, both countries have formally qualified the bilateral relationship as a Strategic Partnership, which is a qualification States only uses in exceptional cases.
Our contacts began long before diplomatic relations were formalized on March 11, 1994. Our relations are deep rooted in history, on the battlefields of the African continent, where tens of thousands of Cuban internationalist’s combatants fought alongside African brothers and sisters against colonial oppression and Apartheid.
Cuba and South Africa currently have successful bilateral cooperation agreements in multiple fields, such as health, education, public works, human settlements, infrastructure, science, information and communication technologies, sports, environment, water and sanitation, among others.
Additional cooperation agreements in different areas are currently under negotiation and will be signed in the near future.
Under those cooperation agreements hundreds of Cuban doctors, teachers, engineers, and technical experts provide important services in the 9 South African provinces. Thousands of young South Africans have been trained in our universities.
The results of that cooperation benefit our countries, but they are also a demonstration of what we can do in terms of South-South Cooperation.
However, we must recognize that the economic and commercial relations between Cuba and South Africa have not achieved so far, the same level as the political and cooperation relations.
The good news is that the present scenario can be rapidly changed, since the necessary conditions to do that are already in place.
There is a strong political will, commitment and interest on both sides, at the highest level, to intensify and significantly increase our economic and commercial relations and investment opportunities.
The Cuban government has emphasized the importance for our countries to develop stronger economic and commercial relations to match the depth of diplomatic and political ones.
On the occasion of his visit to South Africa last year, the Cuban First Deputy President Comrade Salvador Valdés Mesa referred to the favorable prospects that are opening to expand the economic and commercial relations between our countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and the government of South Africa have also publicly reiterated the importance of strengthening our economic-trade relations.
In that context, Cuba deeply appreciates the clear and strong position of the South African government against the illegal and criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba in violation of many UN resolutions. That position was reiterated by President Ramaphosa in his statement to the United Nations General Assembly just a few days ago.
Despite the blockade, Cuba is and will continue to be a trusted and safe destination for foreign investment.
The 3 organizations that conform the Tripartite Government Alliance in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), have also issued several public statements calling for the expansion of Cuba and South Africa economic-commercial relations and condemning the United States blockade against Cuba.
In September last year took place in Pretoria the 15th session of the Joint Consultative Mechanism between Cuba and South Africa. At that important meeting, it was agreed that the parties would work intensively with the objective of significantly increasing economic and commercial relations.
Both sides committed to exchange information on the economic and business environments and trade and investment opportunities. They also agreed to exchange business delegations and to facilitate the participation of business delegations in major exhibitions in both countries.
Unfortunately, the COVID19 pandemic has negatively affected the possibilities of making significant progress this year.
As a consequence of the Coronavirus, we had to suspend the State visit to South Africa by Cuban President Comrade Miguel Díaz Canel Bermúdez, planned for last March, which included an important economic and commercial component.
Likewise, we had to suspend the visit to South Africa scheduled for this year by an important Cuban business delegation organized by the Cuban Chamber of Commerce. We hope that such a visit can take place in 2021.
Despite the negative consequences of the pandemic, we are moving forward. This Business Forum, in which priority sectors of the Cuban economy are represented, is a demonstration of that. This event provides an excellent opportunity to exchange and learn about the economic, trade and investment potential offered by both countries.
To conclude, allow me to greet and congratulate the formal signing today of the Mutual Cooperation Agreement between the two Chambers of Commerce. That Cooperation Agreement is an important practical step, not only in the strengthening of relations between the two institutions, but also in the achievement of our common objective to increase, expand and diversify the economic and commercial relations between Cuba and South Africa, for the benefit of our peoples.
You can always count on the full support of the Cuban Embassy in South Africa.
Thank you very much and my best wishes of success.