Cuban Foreign Trade Minister Visits Panama

Cuban Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca is now in Panama and will be received by the Executive Committee of the Panamanian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (CCIAP). Malmierca is in Panama since Sunday in an official visit to increase the commercial exchange between Cuba and Panama.

As part of the agenda, which will be until Tuesday, Malmierca will have meetings with Panamanaian buinessmen and personalities, reported Cuban Ambassador to Panama Miguel Antonio Pardo Monday.

Malmierca's presence in Panama is part of thr stimulus to the commercial exchange started in 2015,when Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela visited Cuba.

Cuba is a key strategic commercial associate in the Caribbean region, said last year the Secretary of Commerce and Industries,Melitón Arrocha, in the National Assembly, that approved the Partial Scope Agreement between both nations that, in opinion of Arrocha, will generate opportunities for all the productive sectors of two countries.

Also, he made sure that "it will help to expand and diversify the commerce between Panama and Cuba, across the improvement of the environment and the juridical safety of our commercial operators".

Although the trade between Panama and Cuba is mainly of non-original goods and is made across the Free Area of Colon , there are potentialities to increase our exports, said Arrocha at that time

As for the access of Panamanian goods to the Cuban market, with the signed Protocol new tariff preferences were achieved for 73 new lines, some with 100 percent, like palm oil and butter, among others.

The same way 80 and 30 percent for goods as watermelon, doors, windows and its frames,counterframes and thresholds; cotton T-shirts and synthetic fibre; toilet paper, and metallic packings, according to the document.