Gathered in the context of the 4th Conference The Nation and Emigration, which concludes this day at the Havana Convention Palace, the 367 participants from 57 countries discussed the topic in a panel led by the Minister of Economy, Alejandro Gil, and the first vice minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Ana Teresita González.
According to the deputy director general of the Directorate of Consular Affairs and Attention to Cubans Living Abroad, Laura Pujol, the meeting discussed the impact of the blockade that the United States has imposed on Cuba for six decades with the purpose of strangling Cubans, the economy and promote regime change.
The participants expressed the need to lift this hostile policy that affects the population and constitutes the greatest obstacle to the social and economic development of the island.
They highlighted the importance of using the human capital formed by the Revolution, and contributing to the development of the nation through the establishment of fluid economic-commercial relations.
In his speech, Gil outlined the main transformations that Cuba is undergoing in economic matters, and detailed the impact of the US blockade, which from March 2022 to February 2023 caused damages in the order of four billion 857 million dollars.
Likewise, the country’s priorities and challenges for its economic development were identified.
Both officials reiterated the Government’s purpose of promoting the active participation of compatriots abroad.
At the meeting, information was provided on the establishment of the first business with a Cuban residing abroad, under the protection of the Foreign Investment Law, for the marketing of food products, in conjunction with national companies.
It was reported that six investment projects are in different phases of negotiation, and there are five branches in the country chaired by Cubans residing abroad.
Ana Teresita González thanked the solidarity in the face of the damage caused by meteorological events that hit the country, which amounted to a value of seven million dollars.
At the meeting, the premiere of the documentary I come from everywhere was held, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the beginning of these contacts, and tribute was paid to its present founders.
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