Havana, March 1 (RHC)-- Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, presided over on Saturday the 2019 Review of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX).

During the event, it was noted that during the previous year, actions were taken to facilitate and simplify the approval process of new businesses with Foreign Investment -FDI-, as well as the processing of all the permits that its establishment entails.

To this end, an important result was the creation and operation of the IE One-Stop-Shop offices in January 2020.

According to the report presented by minister Rodrigo Malmierca, to strengthen the management of external financing and create conditions for timely and effective access to international cooperation resources, the Cooperation Projects Portfolio was updated. 

By the end of 2019, it included 538 projects valued at 416.9 million CUCs, of which 64% were associated with local development projects.

Likewise, economic, trade, and cooperation relations were consolidated with the group of prioritized countries. At the same time, links with other nations were strengthened, focused on the promotion of business opportunities in Cuba, and the diversification of goods and services.

On the other hand, the Ministry's trade policy x focused in 2019 on diversifying the origins of imports and the destination of Cuban exports and the inclusion of new items in the international market.