Cuba Envoy Urges 'More Active' Canadian Role in Economic Initiatives

OTTAWA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th August, 2021) Havana would welcome increased Canadian participation in the island nation's economic development initiatives, which would prove fruitful for both countries, Cuban Ambassador in Ottawa Josefina Vidal told Sputnik.

"We would like Canada to be more active, participating in all the plans that we have designed in Cuba for our economic development," Vidal said. "There are options, there are opportunities for investments, for corporation agreements, for trade."

Vidal noted that Canadian companies are already active in a range of industries in Cuba, including mining, energy and tourism, and such involvement has proven to be a "win-win situation."

The ambassador acknowledged the difficult global economic environment brought on by the coronavirus pandemic measures, but emphasized that Cuba is an attractive investment option for Canadian entities - public and private - seeking to diversify their foreign trade portfolios.

Vidal pointed out that contemporary Cuba is "much more than cigars, beautiful beaches and good music." She praised the economic reforms undertaken by the Cuban government that allow more room for private sector and entrepreneurship as well as the country's biomedical sector that produces the majority of the vaccines Cubans receive, including the one against the coronavirus.

According to Ottawa, Cuba is Canada's biggest trading partner in the Caribbean-Central American subregion, amounting to more than $1 billion in trade annually.