Havana: A dozen enterprises of Belgium and Luxemburg met with their Cuban peers to explore commercial, collaboration and investment opportunities now open to foreign capital in Cuba.
Headed by Omar Fernandez, Secretary General of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce and the President of the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (CBL), Guy Bultynck, the business forum included presentations from both parties and bilateral meetings between Cuban and Belgian businesspeople.
Guy Bultynck recalled the Belgian presence in Cuba for centuries, and mentioned the Belgian artisan Charles Fabre, who designed the paving stones that cover some of Old Havana streets, but the time has come to do much more, he said.
Seven Senses Group is a holding company that never did business with Cuba, but is now interested to undertake a very concrete project, building a great hotel compound of over 100 hectares with suites, villas, spa, sports complex with a golf course and a medical center of world class.
Other international companies like BICS that deals in voice, courier and connectivity services, Commerzbank which is ready to financially support Belgian interests in the Cuban market, Cypress Diagnostics which is looking for Cuban associates to introduce their products, appreciated in laboratories of over 100 countries worldwide.
Dredging International is a company specializing in dredging bays, soils and hydraulic engineering, with experience in over 90 countries. It has already identified Cuban firms such as the Empresa Constructora de ObrasMaritimas, which could be interested in a joint product of this kind.
Others like PackoInox propose solutions in stainless Steel and Ses Satellites, a world leading operator in satellite communications. They own and operate a fleet of 53 geostationary satellites. They want to do business with the state entity in charge of access to the Internet.
Guy Bultynck recommended business men and women accompanying him to be patient and persistent and increase presence of companies from Belgium and Luxembourg in this country that has a privileged geographic position that can introduce these companies to the Latin American market.
Omar Fernández, Secretary General of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, called both parts to identify existing potentialities in their respective markets that have not been exploited adequately until now, and thus diversify our trade links.
As it was informed, Belgium occupies the sixth place among the main commercial partners of Cuba in Europe and the fifteenth worldwide.
From Belgium, Cuba imports powdered milk, lubricants and other chemicals and exports petroleum derivatives, coffee, and honey.
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