Lukashenko to meet with Cuban PM

On November 10th, the President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, will hold a meeting with Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz in Minsk, BelTA reports

photo: www.president.gov.by

The Head of the Cuban Government arrived on an official visit to Belarus on November 9th. He also plans to hold talks with Belarus’ PM Roman Golovchenko, the leaders of both chambers of the Belarusian Parliament and members of the National Assembly working group on co-operation with the Cuban Parliament. While on a visit to Belarus, Manuel Marrero Cruz will get acquainted with our country’s industrial potential and capabilities in the processing of meat and dairy raw materials.

This year, Belarus-Cuba trade is showing good results, reaching $10.5m in January-September and seeing a growth rate of 307 percent against the same period last year. Belarus’ positive trade balance increased almost 9 times and grew to about $8m. Exports of services are also expanding (by more than 20 percent): in January-July, these totalled $155,200. Last year, Belarus primarily provided business services to Cuba while this year mainly telecommunications, computer and information services were provided by our country.

Now both countries are focused to expand mutual trade turnover. In July, a Belarusian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik visited Cuba on an official visit, and the parties discussed the entire range of Belarusian-Cuban relations, as well as ways to intensify them, including through the mechanism of a bilateral commission on trade-economic co-operation. As is traditional, special attention was paid to the supply of Belarusian equipment and spare parts, popular food products and other Belarusian products. The Belarusian-Cuban liaisons and promising joint projects in the field of science, biotechnology and pharmacology were also high on the agenda.