Cuba, S. Africa to diversify economic ties

Cuba, S. Africa to diversify economic ties
English.news.cn 2015-10-24 09:51:39

HAVANA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cuban and South African leaders on Friday
pledged to strengthen and diversify the economic and trade relations
between the two nations.

During their talks, Cuban First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel and his
visiting South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa, "reaffirmed the
excellent state of bilateral relations as an expression of the
historical ties of brotherhood that unite Cuba and South Africa," an
official statement said.

Cuba and South Africa established diplomatic relations in 1994 after the
fall of the apartheid regime in South Africa. Since then, bilateral
cooperation has mainly focused on health and education.

Ramaphosa, who started his three-day visit to Havana on Wednesday, leads
a delegation of officials and businessmen from such sectors as
telecommunications, tourism, mining, engineering, construction and
manufacturing.

Among them are also representatives from 15 entrepreneurial groups
covering biopharmaceuticals, sugar, children's goods, as well as
household and personal hygiene products.

On Thursday, Ramaphosa and his entourage participated in a business
forum with their local counterparts to explore investment opportunities
in the Caribbean island country.

Ramaphosa said the forum promoted exchanges between the entrepreneurs
from both countries and would help strengthen economic cooperation and
explore new areas for mutually beneficial cooperation.

In 2014, Havana and Pretoria signed an agreement to expand their trade,
which reached 8.6 million U.S. dollars that year, according to Cuban
official data.

Source: Cuba, S. Africa to diversify economic ties - Xinhua |
English.news.cn -
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-10/24/c_134745533.htm