Cuban President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel attended today the opening of the 40th Havana International Fair (FIHAV 2024) held at the Pabexpo fairgrounds.
Havana, Cuba.- This trade and economic event -considered the most significant multisectoral trade fair in Cuba and the Caribbean- runs from November 4 to 9, with the participation of some 50 countries. A dozen official delegations have confirmed their participation, and more than 700 companies will exhibit their products in more than 17,000 square meters of fairgrounds.
Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Minister, Oscar Perez-Oliva, stated that those figures show the event’s magnitude in the context of the country’s significant transformations to correct distortions and boost the economy this year.
Perez-Oliva stated that more than 190 domestic companies, including 30 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are participating. In line with Cuba’s policy of promoting territorial development, a pavilion is designed to show the potentialities and commercial interests of the provinces and the special municipality of the Isla de la Juventud.
The 7th Investment Forum is among the most relevant activities at FIHAV 2024, whose pinnacle will be the presentation of the Updates of the Portfolio of Business Opportunities in Cuba, an interactive tool to expand its local focus, including small projects to increase the participation of MSMEs.
Regarding the investment portfolio, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Carlos Luis Jorge, informed at FIHAV 2023, that the Portfolio had 729 projects, 21 more than in 2022, which implies a total investment of about 34.4 billion dollars.
The 7th Investment Forum will hold panels this year on the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM); the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), business opportunities and prospects for cooperation in industry and agribusiness, and business opportunities with foreign investment in territorial development.
FIHAV 2024 confirms that Cuba offers investors advantages beyond the approval of Law No. 118 and its complementary regulations.
Such regulations allow for the creation of a secure and transparent legal framework in a favorable business environment, in a country that offers investors political, social, and legal stability and a climate of security for foreign personnel.
Some of the significant benefits for financiers are tax incentives, and the formulation of sectoral policies to identify investment opportunities with foreign capital that allow access to the Cuban market and its consumers.
In addition to the geographic location in the center of an expanding market, are high indicators of education, social security, population health, and a highly qualified labor force. Institutions at the service of investors, as well as a government policy that prioritizes research and technological innovation.
Added to this are the multiple international agreements signed by Cuba with the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA); as well as the relations with the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), the European Union (EU), and the World Trade Organization (WTO). (PL)
