>BELGIANS IN CUBA: US-CUBA MEDICAL TRADE FAIR/INTERVIEW > > >Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit >............................................................... > >THE US-CUBA MEDICAL TRADE FAIR >(Third of 3 articles) > >BELGIANS IN CUBA: > >The Walloon Industrial Union Looks for >Cuban Pharmaceutical Contacts > > >Interview with Pierre Goffin, executive of the General Bank of >Brussels and president of the Belgian entrepreneurial mission that >visited Cuba at the end of January, 2000. > > >Q: Mr. Goffin, what prospects for trade and investment do you see in >the Cuban pharmaceutical industry? > >A: From the presentations I attended here and the visits we have >made, we think that the pharmaceutical industry in Cuba is very >strong. There are a lot of new projects, and there certainly are >opportunities for collaboration between Belgian and Cuban companies. >In Belgium, we also have a very strong pharmaceutical industry; >that's why I think there are possibilities for the large Belgian >companies, or those doing business in Belgium, like Smith Klein >Beecham, Lilly and others, to supply equipment and services here in >Cuba. We are very confident about doing business here in the near >future. > >Q: Are the entrepreneurs visiting also interested in Cuban >pharmaceutical products ? > >A: First, we are interested in giving to Cuban entrepreneurs all the >knowledge and technology needed to be able to upgrade the quality of >Cuban products to permit them to be exported. Although this time we >brought a group of companies whose major interest is in selling, >there's great interest back in Belgium to explore in depth Cuba's >successful biotechnology and especially the Finlay Institutes. We >have brought ten companies from all kinds of areas in the >pharmaceutical field. > >Q: You said in your presentation that in your region of Belgium, you >have formed an association for foreign trade and export, on behalf of >which you have organized this trip to Cuba. What are the objectives >of this association? > >A: This is the Union Wallonne des Enterprises, from the >Walloon-speaking region of Belgium. It is an entrepreneurial >organization presided over by Mr. Jean Stephenne, Smith-Kline Beecham >Biologicals' General Director, who was in Cuba last September. The >organization is the International Marketing Department of the Union, >created in February 1998 under the auspices of Michel Hahn, Chairman >of the board of Magoteaux International and former president of the >Walloon Business Federation. Its objective is to promote exports for >the small and medium-sized Walloon companies. with the support of >multinational groups that are leaders in their sector. The department >is sponsored by a number of large Walloon financial or industrial >multinationals, which provide its budget and ensure its independence >-- among them the banks Brussels Lamber (Group ING), Fortis, and >Cridit Communal; insurance companies like Gerling Namur, >manufacturers like Italcementi Group, Ciments d'Obourg, Glaceries >Sanit Roch and Smith-Kline Beecham. > >Q: How does this department work? > >A: The department organizes export promotion events for small- and >medium-sized Walloon companies, which are grouped in "clusters," >based on their end customers. The approach is to target a specific >sector, or a particular foreign investment. One of the major new >clusters is the pharmaceutical industry, and so manufacturers and >entrepreneurs in that field accompanied us to Cuba on this visit. > >Q: How does it work specifically in Cuba ? > >A: The missions organized by the Department staff begin by presenting >the cluster to potential decision-makers abroad and arranging a visit >from all or part of the cluster related to their needs. Then we set >up formal presentations, or bilateral contacts between buyers and >sellers or prospective investors. In Cuba, we are clearly now in the >second phase. For Cuba, the advantage of this approach is that it >allows Cuban entrepreneurs to diversify and improve their suppliers >and to discover new technological solutions. Secondly, it presents >the opportunity to develop joint ventures, similar to the one formed >by Smith-Kline Beecham with the Finlay Institute, to improve, develop >and commercialize products of interest. There's great interest back >in Belgium for other products of the Finlay Institute and the Cuban >Biotechnology Center. > > -end- > > >================================================================= > NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems > Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us > 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 > http://www.blythe.org e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >================================================================= > >nytcari-02.07.00-08:12:16-1237 > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Cuba SI: http://www.egroups.com/group/cubasi/ >Imperialism NO! Venceramos! >Information and discussion about Cuba. >Discussion of the path of Ernesto Che Guevara. > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >eGroups eLerts! >Itís easy. Itís fun. Best of all, itís free. >http://click.egroups.com/1/1231/0/_/30563/_/949929158/ > >-- Easily schedule meetings and events using the group calendar! >-- http://www.egroups.com/cal?listname=cubasi&m=1 > > __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
