Russia will soon sell food, chemical products and other household items to Cuba through a special commercial house, official media on the island reported.
The head of the Russia-Cuba business council, Boris Titov, who met with the Cuban ambassador to the Eurasian nation, Julio Garmendía, explained that one of the projects consists of the creation of a joint venture with the Cuban state corporation Cimex, according to a report from Prensa Latina (PL) news agency.
#Noticias El jefe del consejo empresarial #Rusia – #Cuba, Boris Titov, anunció hoy en esta capital que su país venderá a la isla alimentos, productos químicos y otros artículos para el hogar a través de una casa comercial especial https://t.co/NnjQmyspmj @GobCamaguey @JorgeSutil2 pic.twitter.com/cP8NIKeoM2
— Periódico Adelante (@AdelanteCuba) March 28, 2023
“Many Russian manufacturers are interested in promoting their products in Cuba. We hope that the new commercial house will be a unified wholesale importer of products and independently determine prices in the retail market of the Caribbean nation,” Titov said, quoted by the press agency.
The publication explains that the Cuban government has already granted preliminary consent to the idea, while the Russian counterpart is waiting for the signing of a contract that would allow progress in solving complicated logistical problems, such as the transportation of Russian merchandise and insurance.
Cuba allows foreign investment in wholesale and retail trade
Titov also explained that another sphere of bilateral cooperation is tourism, since the flow of Russian vacationers to Cuba is gradually recovering. The possibility of building an independent hotel especially for travelers from this nation is also being considered, PL added.
Last January Titov headed a delegation of Russian businesspeople who visited Havana, where it was received by President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The Cuban president pointed out that the visit gave continuity to the “very satisfactory” meetings held with Putin during his visit to Moscow in November 2022, and affirmed that there was “potential to expand cooperation, with mutual benefit.”
The decision was then made to found an Economic Transformation Center to prepare “economic transformations in Cuba based on the development of private enterprise,” according to the Interfax press agency.
Said joint center would include, on the Cuban side, representatives of key ministries and the Central Bank, and on the Russian side, experts from the P.A. Stolypin Institute of Economic Growth, one of the main Russian think tanks, the Center for Strategic Research and the Institute of Economic Forecasts of Russia.