Dmitry Chernyshenko holding a working meeting with Esteban Lazo Hernandez, President of the National Assembly of People's Power and President of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba
Dmitry Chernyshenko meeting with Esteban Lazo Hernandez, President of the National Assembly of People's Power and President of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko held a working meeting with Esteban Lazo Hernandez, President of the National Assembly of People's Power and President of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba. The parties discussed trade and economic cooperation, the work of the Russia-Cuba Intergovernmental Commission, as well as humanitarian issues.
The meeting attendees included First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Ivan Melnikov, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Yevgeny Grabchak, representatives from the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Economic Development, as well as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Cuba to Russia Antonio Garmendia Pena.
“The efforts of the both parties are focused on implementing the agreements reached by our presidents Vladimir Putin and Miguel Diaz-Canel, as well as Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz during his visit to Russia this June. Our productive cooperation within the intergovernmental commission is bringing tangible results. This year, we are seeing a stable positive growth dynamic in bilateral trade,” Dmitry Chernyshenko said.
The Deputy Prime Minister suggested holding the 21st meeting of the intergovernmental commission in the second half of February 2024 on the sidelines of the Rossiya International Expo and Forum in Moscow.
Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez noted the productivity of bilateral talks at all levels. Russia and Cuba have drafted and signed a framework intergovernmental agreement on encouraging Russian investors to take part in projects in Cuba. The implementation of the document will help strengthen the two countries’ economic ties.
As part of the intergovernmental commission’s activities, some 30 bilateral documents were signed this May. The Deputy Prime Minister added that the Programme of Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation Until 2030 would be signed soon at the instruction of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. This programme was previously agreed on with the Cuban party. Dmitry Chernyshenko will sign the document on behalf of the Russian Government.
“The signing of the document will expand the scale of bilateral cooperation. We believe that signing contracts with Russian companies and the successful launch of projects under the Russian-Cuban investment initiative is a crucial condition for efficient collaboration. The projects will relate to mineral resource extraction and processing, production of cane sugar, development of the tourism and hotel business, and solar energy,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.