The successful and fruitful meeting is part of the December 2020´s practical cooperation agreement reached by Cuba´s Chamber of Commerce and SACCI.

According to the Cuban embassy in Pretoria, both nations agreed on practical steps to establish, shortly, a Joint Business Council, which will allow to conduct regular and fluid exchanges among Cuban and South African companies in top-priority sectors including agriculture, biotechnology, pharmaceutical industry, health and education.

Likewise, Xulu and Benítez exchanged views on mutual back-up actions to make the inclusion of both nations in the regional trade mechanisms of Southern Africa and the Caribbean much easier.

Since the end of Apartheid regime in South Africa, bilateral cooperation is continuously expanding in a great deal of areas such as health, education, science and technology, agriculture, infrastructure development, housing, water and cleaning-up, human settlements, public works and ITCs.

As stated by South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor in 2020, South Africa and Cuba are united by a noble history of fighting for freedom. Present relations ‘have a deep moral foundation and are deemed to be a benchmark for South-South relations.’

pgh/Pll/jf / mv