Rio, April 5, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - On Friday (2), the Cuban Ambassador to Brazil, Pedro Nuñes Mosquera, told the Federation of Industries of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan) that much needs to be done to "expand trade and investments" between the two countries. Last year Cuba imported a total of US$ 4.5 billion, of which less than US$ 100 million came from Brazil.

Of its total of 400 mixed joint ventures, Cuba regrets that only two of them are in conjunction with Brazilians: Busscar, a bus manufacturer, and Souza Cruz, a cigarette company. The Ambassador considers this number very small for countries with "very similar cultural roots."

Mosquera regards Brazil as one of Cuba's most important foreign trade markets, "due to its economic weight in Latin America, where it occupies a privileged position, and the complementarity between the economies."

During the two months since he arrived in Brazil, Mosquera has already met with several Ministers, as well as the president of the National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES), Carlos Lessa. According to the Ambassador, from May 11-14, the Cuban government will promote the "Brazil-Cuba Business Encounter" and an exposition of Cuban products in the Firjan, to encourage entrepreneurs from the two countries to collaborate with a view towards markets in other Caribbean and Central American countries. He guaranteed that Cuba can become "an important ally for Brazil in the development of [those countries'] emerging markets."

Translator: David Silberstein