Cuba and Belarus to deepen strategic cooperation

HAVANA, Cuba, June 24 (ACN) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez is paying an important official visit to Belarus bound to mark a new milestone in the relations between the two countries, long based on historical friendship and growing cooperation in strategic sectors.

According to Alejandro Simancas Marín, Deputy Director General of Bilateral Affairs at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, remarked that the visit gives continuity to the high-level political dialogue developed in recent years as a result of friendly ties dating back to even decades before the establishment of formal diplomatic relations in April 1992.

During his stay in Minsk, Díaz-Canel will meet with his counterpart Alexander Lukashenko and other Belarusian authorities to talk about the promotion of specific projects in priority areas of importance to Cuba’s development, namely the biopharmaceutical, biotechnological, and agri-food sectors.

The Cuban president will also participate in the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)―where Cuba has maintained observer status since December 2020―made up of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan and deemed a strategic platform for the island to diversify its international economic relations, access new technologies, and market and promote investment in key sectors.

Prior to this event, Cuba will have a special session at the IV Eurasian Economic Forum, in which entrepreneurs from the island will present investment and business opportunities and promote the country as a bridge to Latin American and Caribbean markets.

Mr. Simancas also referred to the way both nations support each other in the face of unilateral coercive measures such as the U.S. blockade of Cuba and Washington’s unfair sanctions against the Belarusian people.