More than 1,200 workers from the Russian oil company Rosneft will travel to Cuba in the coming months to rest and have a medical check-up, “a very interesting modality that boosts the tourism industry,” according to the Granma newspaper, which collect this Monday in a note the agreements reached during the trip of the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, to Russia between June 6 and 16.
The anecdotal of this specific agreement, which, despite this, is the most innovative, makes it clear that the fruits of the exchange are not so abundant. At least in practice. The information contains the details of the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gerardo Peñalver Portal, – under the heading “there are specific agreements” – a list that is already well known.
The “continuity” of fuel supplies is mentioned, as was announced just a week ago when announcing the contract with Rosneft for the export of some 32,000 barrels of hydrocarbons per day to the Island, without yet knowing how to payment of a charge It can be around 676 million dollars annuallyin calculations by specialist Jorge Piñón.
“The possibility of acquiring wheat and fertilizers with payment facilities is maintained”, another measure that already comes from afar as the note itself indicates, which also recalls Russia’s contribution in this regard to donations
The return of direct flights to Havana through Aeroflot is announced, starting on July 1, as he said a month agoduring his visit to the island, Russian Vice Prime Minister Dmitri Chernishenko, who attributed the return of the state airline to Cuba to a “presidential order” from Vladimir Putin.
“The possibility of acquiring wheat and fertilizers with payment facilities is maintained, another measure that already comes from afar as the note itself indicates, which also recalls Russia’s contribution in this regard to donations from the United Nations World Food Program , including the 25,000 tons of cereal that last December made it possible to make two kilos of bread by Cuban for a few days.
Another of the announcements was the materialization “of the modernization of Antillana de Acero and work begins on the 350 Rolling Mill, a very important project for steel production”, but which has already been counted last monthwhen Chernishenko and Ramiro Valdés inaugurated the new plant, which now receives the added name of José Martí, and where the Russians have invested almost 100 million dollars.
“The railway infrastructure project that continues to be implemented was examined, a strategic investment that will give opportunities to our country to improve the transportation of passengers and cargo,” he continues. Granma. The project is one of the oldest on the list.
Cooperation to transform some 1,000 kilometers of roads was announced in 2019, through the signing of an agreement between the Russian state RZD and the Cuban Railway Union. The project would be fully paid for by Russia, with an amount of 2,314 million dollars. But at the end of 2020, Moscow announced the stoppage of the work due to “economic difficulties and quarantine restrictions on the island.”
The punctual suspension would not have been more relevant if it had not coincided with the warning of the executive secretary of the Russian-Cuban Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, Oleg Kucheriáviy, who a few days earlier hinted at a massive cancellation of investments in Cuba for breaches by Havana. Since then, other advances in the railway industry, including the restoration of railway workshops and parts, have included Chinawithout Moscow completely disassociating itself.
The cooperation to transform some 1,000 kilometers of tracks was announced in 2019, through the signing of an agreement between the Russian state RZD and the Cuban Railway Union.
Regarding the banking system, no more is known about the entities that have requested to open branches in Cuba, but mention is made of “progress” in the use of MIR cards so that Russian tourists can pay in rubles when traveling to the island. The option is available since March of this year and in April the possibility of expanding to the prepaid modality was announced.
Also, “the good progress of the program of the 100 annual scholarships that trains Cuban professionals was confirmed, and the possibility of increasing said capacities, totally free, was valued, although Cuba supports part of the stipend.” Another point on the list with zero novelty.
Regarding transport, two Cuban aircraft are in Russia for maintenance. The Cubana de Aviación fleet repair program in the Eurasian country It’s a 2019 news, also a consequence of the origin of the majority of the fleet, which at that time consisted of 17 aircraft, including six Antonov, four Ilyushin, four Tupolev, and three ATR. In addition, “advance was made in joint studies to strengthen the Cuban maritime fleet,” an announcement that is too vague to appear on a list of specific agreements.
The greatest interest might be in what is not known. “A lot of progress has been made in creating a favorable framework and environment for Russian businessmen to enter the Cuban market with direct investments in the main sectors of the economy,” said Peñalver, without giving details of what might imply new developments. In recent months, during the exchanges of senior Russian officials with Cuba, there has been talk of business opening measures to benefit businessmen in the Eurasian country, including usufruct leasing prohibited to foreigners.
“A lot of progress has been made in creating a favorable framework and environment for Russian businessmen to enter the Cuban market with direct investments in the main sectors of the economy”
The signing of several documents in the field of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, included in the list, was announced also last week in Sochi. Among these agreements, which are also very theoretical, the most precise is a contract that will allow the Cuban party to acquire the active ingredients of the medicines, among them azithromycin.
The list is preceded by numerous paragraphs that gloss the close alliance and cooperation between both countries and is closed by another that symbolically summarizes the old spirit of the agreements.
“I would say that the most important result of the prime minister’s visit is that progress was made in meeting the expectations set by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, when in 2014 he received President Putin in Havana and told him that our country aspired to effective participation of the Russian Federation in our economic and social development plans”.
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