Cuba, France assess development projects after debt renegotiation

Cuba, France assess development projects after debt renegotiation
Published October 26, 2016
EFE

HAVANA – Cuban and French officials on Wednesday held an initial
meeting in this capital to define potential investment projects French
companies could carry out on the Communist-ruled island.

Financing for the projects is to come from a 231-million-euro
($252-million) fund stemming from the renegotiation of Cuba's debt with
France.

The meeting of the Strategic Orientation Committee was chaired by Cuban
Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Minister Rodrigo Malmierca and
French Secretary of State for Foreign Trade and Tourism Promotion
Matthias Fekl.

Malmierca said visits by French President François Hollande to Cuba in
May 2015 and Cuban President Raul Castro to France in December "created
the political conditions for progress in the economic realm."

Fekl, for his part, said the deal struck between Cuba and the Paris Club
in December 2015 was "very positive" for all parties involved because 14
rich creditor nations forgave accrued interest, service charges and
penalties dating back to the 1980s in exchange for investment
opportunities on the island.

The French Development Agency, which plans to finance a livestock
production project in the central province of Camaguey before year's
end, opened an office Tuesday in Havana to channel a portion of those
investments.

Fekl stressed French companies' interest in investing in strategic
sectors on the island, including tourism, agribusiness and agriculture,
renewable energies and health care.

Cuban authorities also have granted licenses to two French companies -
construction group Bouygues and Aeroports de Paris - for a project to
modernize, expand and operate Havana's international airport, a key
project in meeting the demands of the island's tourism boom.

Pernod-Ricard, AccorHotels, Total, Alstom, Air France and other
companies already operate in Cuba. EFE

Source: Cuba, France assess development projects after debt
renegotiation | Fox News Latino -
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2016/10/26/cuba-france-assess-development-projects-after-debt-renegotiation/