>from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >subject: Cuba: Colombia, Vieques, Brazil > [MORE THAN A WEEKLY] > > [BIENVENIDOS A GRANMA INTERNACIONAL] June 26, 2000 > > CUBA AND COLOMBIA > Making up for lost time > * Colombian Vice President Gustavo Bell visits the island > > THE vice president of Colombia, Gustavo Bell, feels that art and > >culture, which constitute a common bond among the peoples of the >Caribbean Basin, are elements which serve as a basis of bilateral >improving ties with Cuba. > > At Casa de las Americas, Bell inaugurated the exposition >Contemporary Art of the Colombian Caribbean, sponsored by the Museum > >of Modern Art in Barranquilla. According to the vice president, the > >show "will travel all over the Caribbean, but we wanted to start it > >here, in Havana." > The exposition, at the Haydie Santamaria Gallery, includes >paintings, sculpture, engravings, drawings, photographs, >installations and digital prints by 14 Colombian artists. > > During the Colombian delegation's visit to Casa de las Americas, > >Jorge Fornet, director of the Center for Literary Research, >presented the publishing exhibit from the Caribbean region of >Colombia, donated to that institution's library. > > Upon his arrival in the Cuban capital, Vice President Bell was >welcomed by Carlos Lage, executive secretary of the Council of >Ministers, with whom he later met. > > Bell said that the objective of the mission, which includes >businesspeople, is to build ties of friendship and trade, and to >continue to interesting process of integration that have already >begun. "We have tried to make up a little for lost time," he noted, > >referring to the fact that Cuba and Colombia reestablished >diplomatic relations in 1993. > > Gustavo Bell also met in Havana with Cuban Minister of Foreign >Trade Ra¦l de la Nuez, and evaluated possibilities for increasing >trade. > AS the press has recalled, Colombia and Cuba carried out 15 >cooperation projects in 1998 and 1999, covering the environment, >science and technology, agriculture, fishing, labor and social >security. > > Interest in increasing trade led to the signing of an agreement >between the Chambers of Commerce of Barranquilla and Cuba. > In addition to visiting the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology > >Center, Bell and his delegation toured Old Havana, in the company of > >City Historian Eusebio Leal and Minister of Foreign Investment and >Economic Cooperation Marta Lomas. > > Subsequently, the Colombian vice president traveled to Santiago de > >Cuba, site of the EXPOCARIBE 2000 Fair, in which entrepreneurs from > >40 countries participated. > > Bell gave a lecture whose main theme was the need for Caribbean >integration to face the challenges of regional development.He noted >that the importance assigned by his country to regional >integration can be seen in the fact that Colombia is now fully >incorporated into the Caribbean Community and Common Market, which >offers free access to the area's markets. > >In this regard, he mentioned the Caribbean Plan being carried out by > >the Colombian government, aimed at reactivating the political, >cultural, commercial, educational, scientific and technical ties of > >Colombia's northern coast with the nations of the Caribbean Basin. > > Bell pointed out that Cuba is crucial in Colombia's goals regarding > >the greater Caribbean, given its leading role that Cuba has played >historically in the life of his country and the region in general, >and because it represents "a mirror reflecting our peoplesÕ >characteristics." > >The Colombian vice president has stated that he feels a kinship with > >Cuba, given that his father was born in the Havana neighborhood of >Cerro in 1921, and that he hoped that his visit, which concluded on > >June 26, would contribute to greater economic, commercial and >cultural collaboration between the two countries. > > ***************** > > [MORE THAN A WEEKLY] > [BIENVENIDOS A GRANMA INTERNACIONAL] June 29, 2000 > > PUERTO RICO > Bombs over Vieques once again > > On June 26, the U.S. Navy resumed its exercises on and bombardments > >of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, following the detention of >36 civilians who penetrated a military area in order to obstruct >those actions. > > According to an EFE news agency report, Nilda Medina, spokesperson > >for the Vieques Recovery and Development Committee, revealed that >nine women and 27 men were detained in the early hours of June 26. > >She stated that the demonstrators entered the restricted zone in >order to prevent the navy carrying out a massive bombardment >involving more than 130,000 pounds of shells. > > Medina affirmed that acts of peaceful civil disobedience would >continue in a planned manner. "The cruel attack against our island > >and its people, with the participation of the governor of Puerto >Rico himself, compels us to take action in self-defense against the > >genocide being practiced by the U.S. Navy on the people of >Vieques," she stated. > > ***************** > > [MORE THAN A WEEKLY] > [BIENVENIDOS A GRANMA INTERNACIONAL] June 26, 2000 > > Expanding trade with Brazil > BY ROSA MUNOZ KIEL AND KAREN HERNANDEZ RODRIGUEZ (Special for >Granma International) > >A meeting between representatives of the business sectors of Cuba >and Brazil, which included some of the island's top government >leaders, ended in Havana with a call to expand relations with the >Cuban economy and commerce. > >A 50-member delegation from the Brazilian Association of Capital >Market Analysts (ABAMEC), representing different sectors in the >largest Brazilian cities, met with Cuban Minister of Basic Industry > >Marcos Portal and Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic >Cooperation Marta Lomas. > >The event was promoted and organized by the Brazilian subsidiary >Souza Cruz and the Cuban Union of Tobacco Enterprises (UNETA), >partners in the BRASCUBA joint venture which manufactures cigarettes > >with Cuban tobacco and Brazilian technology. > >Lomas offered information on the opportunities for foreign capital >investment in the Cuban market and recent legislation related to >investment, operations in duty-free zones, the construction and >exploitation of real estate, profit-sharing and the islandÕs >taxation policy. > >The Brazilian delegation toured places of economic and commercial >interest like BRASCUBA Cigarillos S.A., the Puerto Escondido >oilfield in northeastern Havana province, and Varadero tourist >resort, 130 kilometers east of the capital. > > One of Cuba's economic priorities over the last decade has been to > >expand relations within its natural geographical environment (Latin > >America and the Caribbean, as a means of confronting the >globalization of the world economy. > >There are currently some 380 economic associations on the island, >mostly in tourism and basic industry. Mexico and Brazil are among >Cuba's leading partners in Latin America, although the latter has >only two large joint ventures: the aforementioned BRASCUBA and >PETROBRAS, in the oil sector. > >The BRASCUBA consortium, formed in 1995, markets the cigarette >brands Popular, Hollywood and Romeo y Julieta, and received a gold >medal for quality at the last Havana Trade Fair. > >PETROBRAS (Petr-leo Brasileiro S.A.), Brazil's largest industrial >and commercial complex and the world's seventh largest oil producer > >(with 1.1 million barrels of crude and 28 million cubic meters of >natural gas per day), signed a risk exploration agreement with its >counterpart Cubapetr-leo (CUPET) in November 1998. The contract >includes geographical studies and reprocessing seismic research. >This association is currently exploring the seabed off the northern > >coast of Ciego de Avila province, in central-eastern Cuba. A pioneer > >well will be drilled at the end of this year using offshore >technology (at a estimated cost of $23 million USD). This technology > >allows drilling and extraction to a depth of 2000 meters. > >The Supply in Bond trading company, established in the Havana >duty-free zone since 1992, and the Chapel Hill Corporation, which >represents 20 Cuban exporting companies and imports tires for the >sugar industry, are also managed by Brazilian executives. > >"Cuba now has ideal conditions for joint ventures and for taking >advantage of foreign investment opportunities," affirmed Milton >Cabral, BRASCUBA vice president. > > However, Luciano Martins, Brazilian ambassador in Havana, noted in > >an interview granted at the end of last year with the Cuban magazine > >Business Tips on Cuba that trade between Brazil and Cuba is still >far below both countries' potential. > >In the last two years, exports from the South American giant to the > >island have stood at approximately $70 million USD, approximately >0.2% of total Brazilian exports. Cuban exports to Brazil were even >lower. > >However, Brazilians and Cubans are making efforts to develop their >links. In spite of the restrictions imposed by the U.S. economic >blockade (with legislation like the Helms-Burton Act), important >export deals from Brazil to Cuba have been set up, such as the sale > >of urban buses (Marcopolo), various soy derivatives (Ceval) and >frozen chicken (Perdigýo and Sadia). > > Direct investment still suffers from entrepreneurs' disinformation. > >In this context, direct contact between the island and Brazilian >businesspeople, like the BRASCUBA delegation, can contribute to >publicizing and clarifying the conditions and guarantees offered to > >foreign investors, and to promoting an interest in trade. > > ABOUT GRANMA INTERNATIONAL ONLINE Spanish | French | >Portuguese | German | Italian | Javier Sotomayor | Magazines © >Copyright. 1996-1999. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 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