International Fair of Havana to Boost Foreign Trade

November 1, 2011 15:18 by brandon
            

Yesterday marked the first day of the 29th International Fair of Havana (FIHAV), an international trade show in Cuba. The fair will be held through November 5, and its goal is to improve the nation's economic ties with foreign countries.

According to People's Daily, FIHAV is the most important yearly trade show in Cuba.  Rodrigo Malmierca, minister of foreign trade and investment for Cuba, told People's Daily that the end goal of the fair is to "promote the economic relations between Cuba and the world." So far, it seems that the fair is seeing positive results. 

Prensa Latina reports that "More than 120 Spanish companies" are participating in the fair, representing important sectors like industrial supplies, furniture, and custom food products. Additionally, ambassadors for 57 countries are attending the tradeshow, totaling over 13,500 square meters of space.

Even representatives from the United States, a country which has long-standing trade restrictions with Cuba, are gathering for the trade show. According to the Southwest Farm Press, rice industry experts have traveled to Cuba "in hopes of developing new trade strategies and gathering support for overturning the U.S. embargo, which would re-open the Cuba market to U.S. rice."