Brazil wants to boost trade and rebuild ties with Cuba

Havana, Sep 4 (RHC) A delegation of some 30 Brazilian businessmen will travel to Havana today to boost trade with Cuba and rebuild bilateral relations, as the most recent step of the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Journalistic media assure that the four-day mission will take place before Lula's trip to Cuba, where he will meet with his Cuban counterpart, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and will participate in the meetings of the G77 and China on September 15 and 16.

Exame magazine indicates that Brazil's ties with Cuba deteriorated under the administration of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), although they were never completely severed.

The magazine notes that "since taking office in January, Lula has sought to rebuild relations with Havana and Venezuela, and met with Díaz-Canel on the sidelines of a global financial summit in Paris earlier this year".

According to Jorge Viana, president of the Brazilian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (APEX), this rebuilding of relations created an opening for businessmen eager to strengthen business relations.

Brazil is the fourth largest supplier of goods to Cuba, behind Spain, China and the United States, according to APEX. However, the volume of its exports in 2022 was just over half of what it sent to the island 10 years ago.

The trip will include businessmen from the air transport, agriculture, energy and health areas. APEX specifies that food, industrial machinery, transport equipment and chemical products are the areas with the greatest opportunities for exports to Cuba. It also expects the creation of a commercial air route linking Sao Paulo and Havana.

Former Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, head of the Special Advisory to the Brazilian Presidency, declared in August that his recent visit to Havana "was an express determination" by Lula "to symbolize interest in political relations". He confirmed the visit of Brazilian businessmen to Cuba that will cover several issues, including agriculture, and that experts from the Ministry of Health will also visit the Caribbean nation. (Source: PL)