Havana, May 6 (RHC) -- Cuba and France signed a new accord on a short-term credit line to expand bilateral trade in Havana.

The agreement was penned by Cuba’s Foreign Trade and Investment Minister, Rodrigo Malmierca, and by the French Secretary of Foreign Trade, Fleur Pellerin.

The French official told reporters that the new credit line is an extension of a similar accord, and that other bilateral talks will soon be underway to analyze new financial mechanisms to guarantee exports and develop relations with Cuba.

The French official said that the Mariel Special Development Zone encourages French entrepreneurs to invest on the island and she noted that the area may become an important logistic center. France is interested in having a presence in the zone, she stressed.

Meanwhile, Malmierca said that the signing of the document takes place amid the update of the Cuban economic model, which offers appropriate space to expand bilateral commercial relations with France.