HAVANA: Cuba and Britain signed investment accords in tourism, energy and agriculture valued at approximately $400 million during a business forum held this week in Havana, the state-run Web site Cubadebate reported Thursday.
The agreements include the construction of a new golf course on the island, as well as investments in agriculture and projects in the energy sector, John Hutton, the co-president of Cuba Initiative, a Cuban-British project launched in 1995, told local media.
The signing of the pacts took place within the framework of a business seminar sponsored by Cuba Initiative in Havana, a meeting that began on Tuesday with the presence of Cuban authorities and representatives of a 32-company British trade mission, the most important delegation of its kind to visit the island in recent years.
Lord Hutton and Cuban Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca presided at the opening of the forum, which was also attended by the executive director of the London Chamber of Commerce, Colin Stanbridge, and the president of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, Orlando Hernandez Guillen.
“It’s been a very successful mission. … I think there are good opportunities in Cuba. We’ve come at an opportune time and we’ve made some progress, and I hope we can repeat this in the future,” Lord Hutton told local media.
Cuba and Britain are working to increase their $100 million trade balance, which in 2014 suffered a 40 percent decline, according to official figures.
Currently, Britain is Cuba’s 9th largest trading partner within the European Union.
