Pedro Sánchez conveys his government's commitment to Spanish investment in Cuba

Havana (Cuba)

In his speech, President of the Government Sánchez sought to convey to Spanish business owners the "sincere recognition" of the government for the work they are carrying out, for their contribution to the Spanish economy and for boosting the growing presence of Spain overseas, and for the impact their work has on the economic development and progress of Cuba. "The work of Spain's collective representation owes a great deal to Spanish professionals working outside of their own country, and to companies committed to job creation, because both are the image of Spain. You take on this honour that must be conceived as a responsibility - that of being the true ambassadors of a country that is creative, dynamic and innovative", said Pedro Sánchez. The President of the Government offered some figures to back up his praise: Spanish companies in Cuba generate close to 900 million euros in exports annually - 40% of the market share - which makes Spain the leader in volume of activity of the European Union in this region.

Pedro Sánchez stated that he was aware of the difficulties facing Spanish companies, particularly SMEs, regarding late payments due to a lack of currency. In this regard, the President of the Government reiterated the support of the Government of Spain and informed them that the Cuban Government will help facilitate settling payment to Spanish companies. "Our responsibility as a government is to ensure that the conditions in which you carry on your activity here are as favourable as possible. Your success translates into more exports and leads to job creation in Spain", stressed Pedro Sánchez.

In this regard, he announced certain specific measures: the Government of Spain will offer greater access to financing so that Spanish companies can invest in Cuba by re-launching the Cuba Country Line of the Spanish Company for Development Funding (Spanish acronym: COFIDES), with a provision of 40 million euros, and will speed up the paperwork for access by Spanish companies to the Counterpart Fund, an effective instrument in funding large-scale investment projects in strategic sectors in Cuba, contributing to the development of its economy and the transformation of its society. Following the talks between the two governments, the Cuban Government undertook to provide a major boost to this fund.

Following breakfast, President of the Government Sánchez inaugurated the Spain-Cuba Business Forum, organised jointly by the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute (Spanish acronym: ICEX), the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (Spanish acronym: CEOE), and the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, which was attended by close on 200 companies, at which the different possibilities for business relations between Spain and Cuba were analysed in such sectors as infrastructures, renewable energies, tourism and investments where Spanish companies have the greatest presence.

In his speech at this forum, President of the Government Sánchez highlighted the role of Spanish small- and medium-sized enterprises, mainly through export activity to the island and stressed that the boost in growth and internationalisation of SMEs is one of the priorities of the government's economic policy. The President of the Government also underlined the strong presence of Spanish companies in the agri-food sector and in the Cuban tourist industry, which plays a key role in the economic development of the island. Spanish brands manage 70% of hotel rooms and 9 of the 10 main tourist operators on the island are Spanish.

Pedro Sánchez concluded by reiterating the need "to harness all the opportunities offered by the meeting" to further develop the modernisation and economic opening up of the island, as well as to strengthen the economic and trade ties between Spain and Cuba. The meeting was closed off by the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, and the Minister for Foreign Trade and Investment of Cuba, Rodrigo Malmierca.

Non official translation