During his working visit to the Republic of Cuba, Artak Kamalyan, Minister in charge of Industry and Agriculture of the Eurasian Economic Commission, held a number of high-level meetings. At the Havana International Fair (FIHAV 2023), he discussed the prospects for industrial cooperation between the EAEU Member States and Cuba with Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, President of the Republic of Cuba, and Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba and Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment.

“Historically, the Republic of Cuba has been a friendly state for all countries of the Eurasian Economic Union. Therefore, it is no coincidence that today Cuba is an observer state in our integration association and one of the key strategic EAEU partners in Latin America and the Caribbean, our closest cooperator within the existing infrastructure of the Union’s international activities,” noted Artak Kamalyan. 

The EEC Minister spoke about the new supranational mechanism to provide financial support for industrial cooperation in the EAEU, expressing his readiness to provide more detailed information if the Cuban party showed such interest in order to further develop the prospects for the participation of observer states in cooperation projects.

Artak Kamalyan and Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz agreed that the parties needed to intensify their work to implement the agreements reached. 

The EEC Minister was the key speaker at a special panel discussion called Cuba and the Eurasian Economic Union: Investment Opportunities to Promote Trade, Cooperation and Economic Complementarity dedicated to ensuring an inflow of investment and technology transfer for the development of sustainable industrial infrastructure and the economy as a whole.

“There is certain potential in developing cooperation between the EAEU and Cuba with the aim of creating new value chains and ensuring technology transfer for reorientation to new regions and markets,” said Artak Kamalyan. 

Artak Kamalyan also discussed relevant matters of industrial cooperation with a number of leaders of Cuban industry, including Archelio Vigoa, First Vice Minister of Energy and Mines; Luis Lopez, First Vice Minister of Food Industry; and President of the Chamber of Commerce. 

During a working visit to Cuba, the delegation of the Commission’s Industry and Agriculture Unit visited the Mariel Special Development Zone. During consultations with the SDZ management, Artak Kamalyan proposed to clearly identify priority and potentially interesting industry sectors that could be featured on its premises, and to further develop cooperation with specific companies of the Union.

Representatives of the Commission also visited the La Coloma (EPICOL) fish processing plant and the Comandante Camilo Cienfuegos electronics enterprise. They got found out about the production process, the existing difficulties and restrictions that Cuban manufacturers face under the trade and economic embargo, discussed some approaches to possible areas for improving technological processes and developing access to new export markets, including the potential for strengthening production and technology chains with countries of the EAEU.