HAVANA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Cuba and the Czech Republic on Wednesday vowed to deepen joint cooperation in areas such as the food industry, agriculture, logistics and energy as part of a new scenario of commercial ties between both nations.
In an economic forum held at Havana's National Hotel, the Czech Minister of Agriculture, Marian Jurecka, who is leading a delegation of over 40 companies from his country, said that Prague is committed to strengthening commercial ties with the island country.
"There is great potential to increase economic cooperation and the Czech companies present in this event have the will and motivation to do business with Cuba in a sustained manner," he said.
Jurecka added that several Cuban products such as cigars, rum, coffee and cacao could be exported to the Czech market and do well due to their global reputation.
"Czech companies and entrepreneurs want to do business beyond Europe and Cuba is a strong market in Latin America and the Caribbean," added the minister.
The Czech delegation traveled to Havana to participate in the 20th International Agricultural Fair, Fiagrop 2017, that runs until next Sunday.
Meanwhile, Orlando Hernandez, president of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, said that the forum was important to identify new areas of economic cooperation between both countries.
"This event is a good platform to boost ties in the agricultural sector which are already strong and to diversify our cooperation in new areas of interest," he said.
On Tuesday, Jurecka and his Cuban counterpart, Gustavo Rodriguez, signed a memorandum of understanding that promotes cooperation in scientific research methods for animal and plant health.
Cuba receives over 10,000 Czech tourists every year and economic cooperation has increased in various areas since 2015, particularly after Cuba reestablished diplomatic relations with the United States.
A single purchase
