Havana, January 8 (RHC)-- Science is an important component and active actor for national development and plays a major role in the ongoing economic updating in the Cuban nation, said Science, Technology and the Environment Deputy Minister, Jose Santana, on the occasion of the coming celebration of the Day of Cuban Science on January 15th.

At the end of 2013, Cuba had over 12,000 doctors in different scientific fields, fifty three percent of them women, he disclosed.

Currently, the nation has ten ongoing programs for scientific development, including those for the development and production of foodstuffs, energy, the improvement of health and education services and for researching climate change.

The science sector in Cuba proposes to increase this year its links with the productive side of the economy, and steps on that direction are already being taken.

January 15th is celebrated in this country as the Day of Science because on that date, in 1960, then President Fidel Castro declared that Cuba should be a bulwark of science, insisting on the need for the promotion of scientific studies and development in the Island.

Paying homage to his strategic vision, the nation now celebrates every January 15th – the Day of Cuban Science.

This year, the emphasis is being placed on the need to further strengthening the links between science and production.