The U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, asserted today that there is interest in the business community of her country in fluid trade relations with Cuba, a scenario hampered by the effect of the blockade, Prensa Latina reported.

The willingness to strengthen the links of political, economic and commercial cooperation was ratified today in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, at a meeting between Sugurbaev Bulat, director of the Americas Department of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry, and Carlos Valdes, Cuba's ambassador to that country.

Representatives of Cuba and the United States signed in Havana a Memorandum of Understanding to reestablish regular commercial flights after a five decades hiatus.

More than 1 500 delegates from 50 countries will participate in the traditional Habano International Festival, to be held from February 29 to May 4 in this city.

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 15 (acn) New bridges between the cultural lives of Cuba and the United States were built today at the headquarters of the ongoing Havana's International Book Fair, resulting from the meeting between editors of the two countries.

Cuban Foreign Trade and Investment minister Rodrigo Malmierca begins a four-day working visit to the United States, which includes meetings with local officials, public and private entrepreneurs.

The signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of direct regular flights between Cuba and the United States will take place on Tuesday, February 16, at Havana's Hotel Nacional.

The Minister of Finance and the Economy of Uruguay, Danilo Astori, will give on Friday in this capital a lecture on trends and prospects of Latin American economy.

Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce during the administration of George W. Bush, was elected to head the U.S.-Cuba Business Council (USCBC), an organization pressuring into the lifting of the blockade that Washington has maintained against the island for over five decades.

The Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment (MINCEX), Rodrigo Malmierca, will pay a working visit to the United States on February 15-18, heading a delegation composed of officials of the MINCEX, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Bank of Cuba, the Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of Cuba, and executives of Cuban companies, the Cubaminrex Web site reported.

In the presence of over 60 Angolan entrepreneurs, the president of the Cuban Food Industry's Business Group, Iris Quiñones, presented 13 projects of business opportunities in this sector and in fisheries for foreign investment on the island.

The Agriculture Ministry will incorporate modern technologies and machinery to henequen manufacturing which will reduce energy consumption and increase the efficiency of its production.

Authorities in the Russian Ivanovo region, 254 kilometers from the capital Moscow, will launch a business mission to Cuba soon with concrete cooperation actions in tune with current bilateral economic and commercial relations.

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 6 (acn) Cuban products that are leaders in the biotechnology field were promoted in Indonesia, mainly Heberprot-P, a novel and unique drug prescribed for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer.