Cuban foreign trade minister begins working agenda in Colombia

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 20 (ACN) Cuban minister of foreign trade and investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, will hold a meeting today with Colombian minister of trade, industry and tourism, German Umaña, as part of his official visit to that South American country, which will last until next Wednesday.

Malmierca Diaz's official visit will also include exchanges with the authorities of Bancoldex, the development bank for business growth in that country; and with Carmen Caballero, president of the government agency Procolombia, in charge of promoting exports, international tourism and foreign investment.

Likewise, the Cuban head of delegation will participate in talks with businessmen, in which Umaña and Caballero will participate, with the theme Perspectives of commercial relations between Colombia and Cuba and a look from Colombia to the Caribbean.

The two nations have an Economic Complementation Agreement, in force since July 2001, which covers some 1,500 products with tariff preferences in favor of Colombia and almost 1,000 in favor of Cuba, according to Prensa Latina (PL).

From Havana, both countries launched in November 2022 the 12th Joint Economic and Scientific-Technical Commission, which includes 20 initiatives on climate change, gender, inclusion, innovation and risk management.

As a result of an inspection carried out by Cuba's National Center for Animal Health, Colombia obtained authorization to export beef, pork, poultry, dairy products and meat derivatives, following recognition of the Colombian official inspection system as equivalent to the Cuban one.

For Minister Umaña, PL noted, this authorization "will allow fostering economic and trade relations based on the existing strengths and opportunities identified between the two countries and, undoubtedly, will benefit our nations".