Havana/Vietnam’s influence on the Cuban economy continues to grow under the Cuban government, which does everything possible to attract foreign investment. This time, the expansion has been towards the pharmaceutical industry with the creation of the Mixed Genfarma company, based in the Asian country, the product of an agreement between BCF SA – one entity of the Biocubafarma state group – and the Vietnamese Genfarma Holdings.
According to the Biocubafarma statement reproduced by the official press, the objective of this company is to produce high -tech medications for both nations and export them to other countries, especially in Asia. According to Havana, which does not renounce its self-imposed on medical power, it is “a southern-south cooperation model with international vocation” and that will allow “carrying Cuban Vietnam Cuban medical technology.”
Even so, it is striking for the company to be located in Vietnam and not on the island, beyond the reach of the Cuban bureaucrats and under the avizor eye of the Vietnamese, which on other occasions have already complained that their businesses with Havana usually founder or do not have enough Financial liberties.
In a recent visit to Hanói-previa upon the arrival of Miguel Díaz-Canel between next August 31 and September 2-, the Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Deborah Rivas Saavedra, was in charge of calming the waters ensuring that Cuba “is open and ready” to adopt measures facilitating Vietnamese investment projects. In a meeting with local authorities, the official also mentioned that a mechanism for attending Vietnamese companies would be launched and promised preferential policies, although without going into concrete details.
Deborah Rivas Saavedra was in charge of calming the waters ensuring that Cuba “is open and ready” to take measures that facilitate Vietnamese investment projects
For his part, the vice minister Vietnamese of the construction, Nguyen Tuong Van, openly complained that “the internal difficulties of Cuba have had a significant impact on the progress and effective excessive More than a proposal, the official gave a warning: the Cuban government must create a more flexible environment for Vietnamese companies.
However, bilateral relations so far show a difficult tendency to ignore. Vietnam invests, directs and harvests scarce fruits, while Cuba barely delivers resources and disregards business. Or at least it was until recently, when Agri Vma’s claims – a Vietnamese company settled in Mariel – forced the Cuban government to be more flexible not to lose the benefits of that cooperation.
Since his arrival in the country, Agri Vma has been the beneficiary of several Havana policy changes: the company was the first foreigner to obtain lands in usufruct and even obtained permission to directly hire your workers. Their Rice crops They have also reported good numbers in recent weeks, an unprecedented event for other Vietnamese companies that even decided to leave the island after colliding against the wall of Cuban unproductivity.
Since his arrival in the country, Agri Vma has been the beneficiary of several Havana policy changes
At the end of July, 14ymedio He reviewed the content of a letter that the company sent three Cuban government ministers in 2024 requesting to access $ 300,000 frozen in an International Financial Bank account. The Vietnamese part claimed that it needed these funds to import raw materials and maintain its production, which had been reduced to 10% due to the shortage of inputs, and reminded him of his role as an animal feed supplier.
The trips to Vietnam of the Vice Minister Rivas Saavedra and Díaz-Canel itself are indications that Hanói’s pressures begin to take effect in exchange for new investments in tourism, energy and, now, the pharmaceutical industry.
