…Ambassador Majeed upbeat about economic activity

WITH bilateral relations between Guyana and Cuba deepening, Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba Ambassador Halim Majeed believes that the two countries are well poised to benefit through economic diplomacy.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Ambassador Majeed revealed that special attention has been paid to initiating and enhancing development programmes, in keeping with the country’s national mandate.

As such, since assuming the role of Ambassador in March 2016, he sought assistance of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce to formally invite several private-sector business entities to visit Cuba so as to understand the existing opportunities.

The Ambassador said while some, such as Gafsons Industries Limited, Nand Persaud & Company Limited, Distribution Services Limited (DSL), W & T George and Company, and Bulkan Timber Works (BTW), among others, have demonstrated an interest in trade and commercial relations, others such as CSR Computers/APERTA Limited and Modern Industries Limited have shown a preference for joint-venture arrangements with Cuban state companies.

“I should mention that BTW has met several Cuban companies during their recent one-week visit to Cuba and is in the process of looking at best practices on exporting to Cuba. At the same time, DSL is negotiating how best it could capitalise on its engagement with a number of Cuban pharmaceutical companies (including manufacturers of cancer vaccines, cancer kits, diabetic vaccines and upscale pharmaceuticals) and SUCHEL, Cuba’s leading manufacturer in men and women beauty products,” said Ambassador Majeed.

Recently, it was announced by the Guyana Government that Cuba has expressed an interest in importing Guyana’s rice and for the first time in 40 years, some 15,000 metric tonnes of rice will be exported by Guyana. It is expected that come next year between 50,000 and 70,000 tonnes of rice will be exported to Cuba.

“In my discussions with both the Guyanese and Cuban sides, it is very probable that Guyana could capture a much larger share of the Cuban rice market,” said Majeed. But Guyana and Cuba have cooperated on a number of other fronts. In January, the Guyana Foundation whose Founder and President is Ms. Supriya Singh-Bodden, CCH, and the University of Medical Sciences of Ciego de Avila, convened the first International Conference on Mental Health, Drug Abuse, Suicide and Domestic Violence in Cuba.

That conference’ the Ambassador told the Guyana Chronicle, had much publicity not only in Cuba, but also internationally. He disclosed that because of its success, a second conference is being planned and will see Singh-Bodden visiting Cuba soon to meet with the Rector of the University of Medical Sciences of Ciego de Avila.

Cuba is widely known for its medical training programmes and Guyana has benefitted tremendously from those since 1976. In fact, by September 2017, we will have a total of 62 students in Cuba. Of that number, 21 will be post-graduate students specialising in dermatology, pathology, neurology, gynaecology, orthopaedics and cardiology, among other specialisations.

Both undergraduate and post-graduate students will be located at various Universities of Medical Sciences across Cuba. For example, in the province of Havana, there will be 29 students; in the province of Sancti Spiritus, there will be 11 students; in the province of Pinar del Rio, there will be eight students, and in Santiago de Cuba, there will be 10, said Ambassador Majeed.

This year, 37 Guyanese students who studied in Cuba completed their Sixth Year (medical internships) in Guyana and are now full-fledged medical professionals. However, it should be noted that more emphasis was being placed on post-graduate programmes there.

Meanwhile, the recent air transportation agreement will also see tremendous opportunities opening for both countries. For the first time, a Guyanese company, Fly Jamaica, will be flying non-stop from Cuba to Guyana. That inaugural flight is expected to be at the end of this month.

In June, Fly Jamaica’s Managing-Director, Roxanne Reece, told the Guyana Chronicle on the sidelines of the opening of the company’s second ticketing office in Brooklyn, New York, that the company believes in Guyana and alluded to the hundreds of Cuban nationals who travel here weekly to purchase goods, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy.

They seek mainly clothing and electrical items and fly mostly with Easy Skies to Guyana.
“We have everything ready,” Reece told the newspaper, adding: “We have captains, co-pilots, cabin crew. Everything is ready. We are just waiting on one of the governments to give us the word to go.”

Ambassador Majeed also alluded to the areas of trade, investment and other forms of economic cooperation which he described as “of profound significance in our bilateral relations.”

“It is anticipated that two important agreements will be executed in the near future. One is the Trade Memorandum between the Cuban Ministry of External Affairs (MINREX) and my Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The other is between the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) and the Cuban Chamber of Commerce.

“This is the first such agreement between the two Chambers…the Cuban Government takes a very formal and legal approach on those matters,” he told the Chronicle.

Additionally, Ambassador Majeed said the Cuban Chamber of Commerce had been informed that President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, Deodat Indar, will travel to Cuba on the occasion of the 35th Havana International Trade Fair (FIHAV) to be held from October 31 to November 5, for the signing of the agreement. Last year, Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, attended the Trade Fair and met with, among other persons, Roderigo Malmierca, the Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment. Guyana is slated to participate again this year.

Meanwhile, another significant agreement between the two states, Ambassador Majeed alluded to, is the Promotion and Protection of Investments Agreement. He told the Chronicle that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently examining the agreement seriously, and noted too, that the agreement was signed in 2002.

“We may have to re-negotiate that agreement rather than drafting a completely new one. I have remarked on this agreement because, as I pointed out previously, a number of Guyanese companies have shown more than a passing interest in investing in Cuba. For example, Nand Persaud & Company Limited has been in preliminary discussions with the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment about establishing a rice-milling plant and a fertiliser blending plant in Port Mariel,” the Ambassador added.

Ambassador Majeed has acknowledged concerns over what many have described as co-operation between Guyana and “a problematic Cuba,” but noted that some 45 years ago it was former President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham who, despite opposition, “almost single- handedly broke the economic blockade against Cuba.”

“And so, when others see Cuba as a small island of recurrent problems, we look at Cuba as a vast ocean of endless opportunities,” said the Guyanese Ambassador, who noted that next year Guyana will be deepening its political and economic relations with Cuba.

“My ministry is not oblivious to the economic benefits of the US$ 1.8 billion Cuban agricultural market, nor are we ignorant of the advantages that could accrue to the national interest by collaborating with Cuba in the tourism sector,” said Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba.

Guyana, he said, is set on a path of development for its people. “My ministry, I believe, is playing its own unique role in securing a worthwhile future for all of our citizens,” the Ambassador concluded.