HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 17 (acn) Cuba's Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca said on Tuesday in Washington DC that US companies will not be discriminated in Cuba once the US restrictions imposed on their firms are lifted.
According to Prensa Latina News Agency in Washington, US companies will be welcomed on the island and that Cuba's relations with them will be the same as any other country, said Malmierca during a press conference at the US Chamber of Commerce where the Cuban government official is heading a delegation on a working visit.
We need foreign investment, an important component for our development that is why we cannot place barriers or complicate the process, he said.
Malmierca reiterated that the main obstacle facing US companies is Washington's economic blockade against the island since the early 1960's.
According to Malmierca, once the blockade is lifted or Washington approves a license for US companies to do business with Cuba, we can begin talks with local entities on the possibility of exchanges.
The Minister for Foreign Trade and Investment added that there are US companies that have advanced in their negotiations with Cuba but the blockade is an obstacle for them to do business with the Caribbean island.
There are those that are almost at the point of signing contracts, he said.
Meanwhile, the Vice President of the Americas at the US Chamber of Commerce, Jodi Bond said that the US companies are at a disadvantage to other countries as a result of the economic blockade.
The world competitors are approaching the Cuban market without a problem, but we know that we will also have the same possibilities, she stressed.
Bond believes that the US government is doing all it can with such a complex scenario of regulations turned into law in 1996 which now required Congressional action for its elimination.
Malmierca and Bond highlighted the signing on Tuesday in Havana of a memorandum of understanding to normalize direct flights between both countries.
In this sense, they celebrated the advantages for trade and flights that represents an agreement by US Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox and his Cuban counterpart Adel Yzquierdo which will allow 20 daily flights from the US to Havana and 10 a piece to other 9 Cuban international airports.
Today is a historic day but we have had several like these in the last 14 months, said Bond regarding the simultaneous presence of Fox in Cuba and Malmierca in Washington DC, two high level government officials which constitutes an important event in many years.
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