SA ready to do business with Cuba
Cuba is a country on the rise with South Africa recognising its growing importance as an economic player in the world, says Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Mzwandile Masina.
“There is no doubt that Cuba is on the rise, hence this is the third interaction between businesspeople from the two countries in a period of 40 days. This confirms that we as South Africans recognise Cuba’s growing importance as a vital economic player in the world.
“It also underscores the concerted efforts of the two governments to increase bilateral trade and investment between the two countries,” said the Deputy Minister.
The Deputy Minister is in Cuba with a South African business delegation where some of the companies are participating in the 33rd Havana International Trade Fair. Other companies in the delegation are participating in a programme aimed at exploring opportunities for partnerships and joint ventures in the Cuban economy.
The Deputy Minister was speaking at a business seminar that was hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) on the margins of the Havana International Trade Fair in Cuba.
The dti arranged an inward mission by a Cuban business delegation in September and hosted a “Doing Business with Cuba” seminar in Pretoria.
Deputy Minister Masina was in Cuba last week as part of a South African delegation led by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. A business seminar took place during the official visit.
Deputy Minister Masina said the South African government was encouraged by the noticeable number of the country’s companies that have shown interest in investing in Cuba.
“We trust that our visit here will further collaborate and strengthen the interest that these companies have shown and result in their investment initiatives materialising,” he said.
He assured businesspeople attending the seminar that both Cuba and South Africa were in the process of setting up mechanisms to ensure that their investments in both countries were protected.
“We believe that once the Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill is passed into law, it will make it easy for Cuban companies to invest in South Africa and be protected. We also believe that the legislative reforms taking place in Cuba will also ensure that the investments of our companies in the country are protected,” said Deputy Minister Masina
