As a good example of the impact of foreign investment, the President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, described tourism, a sector of the Cuban economy in which foreign investment first began.
This progress, Díaz-Canel said, has been achieved without compromising the country’s sovereignty, as some predicted, but on the contrary, our independence has been defended and preserved, at the same time that knowledge, markets, and capital have been acquired, along with a prestigious image around the world.
The Cuban President made these remarks during a recent review of the performance of foreign investment in tourism, adding that links with national industry and the non-state sector must continue to be strengthened, to continue reducing the high volume of products the country imports for tourist facilities.
During the meeting, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz explained that, to date, 27 joint enterprises have been created, with 5,091 hotel rooms in four and five star establishments.
In the country’s 2019 Portfolio of Foreign Investment Opportunities, 176 projects are included, he reported, among them hotels, recreation centers, marinas, and Campismo family vacation facilities.
He pointed out that, although progress has been made with foreign investment, there is still dissatisfaction with lengthy processes for making proposals, approval, dissolution and liquidation of businesses with foreign capital, and inconsistent compliance with corporate obligations in joint enterprises.Marrero acknowledged, “It is imperative to encourage work at all levels to ensure compliance with approved policy and projected growth, in quantity and quality, in projects required for the development of Cuban tourism.
”Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz stated that tourism represents an important strength for the country, in attracting foreign capital and exporting services, while work underway to build productive links with the rest of the national economy continues.
(Granma)