Havana, October 31 (RHC-ACN)-- Cuba and Russia ratified Monday their intention to maintain the good state of commercial relations, which have shown an important growth in the last years.

Rodrigo Malmierca, Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment (MINCEX), was speaking at the celebration of the National Day of Russia in the 35th International Fair of Havana, FIHAV 2017. The fair opened Monday in Expocuba with the attendance of entrepreneurs from more than 70 nations.

According to Malmierca, the excellent bonds between both States are possible thanks to the existing political will and, among other reasons, to the credits granted by the Russian Federation to Havana. He said that the two countries have established alliances in sectors such as energy and transport, mainly rail, which is of vital impact on the socioeconomic development of Cuba.

The head of MINCEX said that the Cuban market remains open to relations with Russia, and ratified the will of the Island to further strengthen these ties. Referring to the recent Cuba-Russia Intergovernmental Commission, he said that satisfactory results were obtained that will allow deepening the economic, commercial and scientific-technical collaboration.
According to Georgy Kalamanov, Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, trade relations with Cuba are dynamic and there are projects to expand collaboration in the chemical industry and to support the modernization of national light industry and the José Martí Siderúrgica company.

In recent years the arrival of Russian tourists to Cuba has grown, according to data from the Cuban Embassy in Moscow, in 2016 a total of 65,400 Russian citizens arrived, and in the current year up to September 11, the figure exceeded 70 thousand.