Chronicle on Cuba - December 2007

Economy

December 4: Azerbaijan intends to develop cooperation with Cuba in the economic sector, Heydar Babayev, the Azerbaijani Minister for Economic Development, said in a meeting with Cuban officials, Agshin Mehdiyev, the Azerbaijani Ambassador to Cuba.  “Cuba is more than a friend to Azerbaijan, taking into consideration the systematic  support in the international arena. We are interested in continuing economic relations," Babayeva said at a meeting with Marta Lomas, the Cuban Minister for Foreign Investments and Economic Relations. (Trend News Agency, 4/12/07)  

December 5: Cubans are hoping that 2008 will bring reforms, at least in agriculture, that will result in a more varied supply of food, at affordable prices. For people on the average salary of 385 pesos a month, the prices in the farmers’ markets are prohibitive. A head of garlic costs four or five pesos, a pound (450 grams) of onions costs 10 pesos, tomatoes are between five and 20 pesos a pound, depending on the season, oranges or grapefruit are a peso apiece and a head of lettuce costs five pesos. The streets are abuzz with speculation about future transformations in the rural sector ever since Raúl Castro announced on Jul. 26 that "structural and conceptual changes will have to be introduced where they are necessary" in order to make the land more productive. The Agriculture Ministry must make its report to the National Assembly (parliament) during its last sessions this year, which usually take place in the second half of December, but nothing has been announced with respect to what measures may be taken to jump-start the stagnating farming sector, which has shrunk for three consecutive years. (IPS, 5/12/07)

December 5: Slovakia and Cuba have agreed to reinvigorate bilateral economic co-operation, the Slovak economy ministry reported following a working visit paid by Minister Lubomir Jahnatek to the Caribbean island. "The Slovak Government has resolved to develop economic relations in every part of the globe. I'm aiming therefore to find out whether we share a common future in terms of co-operation in the area of business or have different interests," Jahnatek said. The co-operation agreed with Cuban Agriculture State Secretary Ruben Gomez will include deliveries of farm machinery, tractors, forestry equipment such as saws and spare parts, and foodstuffs. (TASR, 5/12/07)

December 5: The status of ongoing projects between Barbados and Cuba was the focus of the fifth meeting of the Barbados/Cuba Joint Commission which got under way in Havana, Cuba. The December 5-7 meeting will address issues pertaining to cooperation in the areas of health, education, culture, disaster preparedness, science and technology, trade and agriculture. In addition, a team of Barbadian road tennis players has been invited to conduct exhibitions and training in Cuban schools to popularize the sport. (The Nation News, 5/12/07)

December 6: Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Eumelio Caballero invited Russian companies to take part in prospecting for crude oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico. Caballero said that Cuba already had signed contracts with companies from Spain, Norway, Venezuela and China who will participate in the exploration and exploitation of petroleum deposits in the Cuban economic zone in the Gulf. "We are in contact with the Russian companies and we hope that they participate in the prospecting for those deposits, in particular creating the necessary infrastructure," said the diplomat, who is on a two-week visit to Russia. He added that "Cuba is open to cooperation," and he said that the "favorable" political conditions on the island augur for "magnificent prospects" for the Russian firms that participate in the project. (Oil & Gas, 6/12/07)

December 6: The number of foreign partnerships in Cuba has fallen to 237 in 2006 from 403 in 2002, but analyst Paolo Spadoni said most of that decline represented small- and medium-size ventures that apparently didn't contribute much to the economy. Five major ventures continue to account for 80 percent to 90 percent of all Cuban exports, said Spadoni, a Cuba expert and visiting assistant professor in political science at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Big investors include Canadians in oil-exploration, Italians in telecommunications companies, the French in rum businesses and the Spanish in hotel companies, he said. Most partnerships are 50-50 ownership, though sometimes the Cuban government holds a majority stake, he added. "The market is big, but the funds are limited," said Geoffrey Geng of Shanghai-based Forever Bicycles. (Chicago Tribune, 6/12/07)

December 6: The Chinese ambassador to Cuba, Zhao Rongxian, toured several places of economic and social interest in the eastern province of Las Tunas aiming at increasing the existing bilateral ties between the Asian country and the island. Among other places, the diplomat visited the factory of metallic structures, a farm, the recently inaugurated boulevard of Las Tunas, the Plaza Jose Marti and the Major General Vicente Garcia museum. During the tour, the high-ranking official received detailed information about the social and economic life in the province. (ACN, 7/12/07)

December 7: The official Canada Statistics agency reported that Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic figured among favourite destinations for Canadian travelers in the second quarter of 2007. The document notes that over a half million Canadians went to these places for holidays in that period. It adds that in April-June this year, 198,000 Canadians visited Cuba, a 19.4 percent increase compared to the same period last year. (Prensa Latina, 7/12/07)

December 7: Cuba said it will allow foreign companies to pay Cuban employees with hard currency, a move that legalizes widespread "under the table" payments and requires workers to declare and pay tax on that income. Representatives of 698 foreign companies registered with Cuba's Chamber of Commerce were told by Finance Ministry officials that as of January 1, 2008, they must also record in their books all hard currency payments to staff. Foreign businesses in communist Cuba employ staff through government agencies, which are paid in hard currency and, in turn, pay the employees in Cuban pesos worth 24 times less. To supplement low wages, companies often pay Cuban staff an additional amount under the table in hard currency, and authorities have turned a blind eye, until now. "This will normalize relations between foreign investors and Cuba," said Foreign Investment Minister Marta Lomas. "Cuban workers receive their salary in pesos, and it is known that they receive another payment. We are adjusting the taxes to the circumstances," she said. (Reuters, 7/12/07)

December 7: Cuban farmers are being offered more land to boost agricultural production in a sign the communist government under acting president Raul Castro wants to encourage more private enterprise. State officials are meeting with private farmers and cooperatives across Cuba, and participants say any farmers not working the maximum 167 acres allowed can now apply for more land as long as they are productive. "We asked for another 135 hectares (3,375 acres) and are waiting for a response, but I'm sure we will get them," said Evelio Cisneros, the head of a cattle cooperative in La Vallita, in Cuba's most important agricultural province of Camaguey. Cuba has around 250,000 family farms and 1,100 private cooperatives, an island of private ownership in an economy where the state controls 90 percent of production and individual initiative is limited to some food services, room rentals and a set number of trades, from clowns to mechanics. (Reuters, 7/12/07)

December 7: The Spanish autonomous region of Galicia committed to strengthen collaboration with Cuba in priority areas such as health, conservation of historical patrimony and the rehabilitation of houses and kindergartens. Emilio Perez Tourino, President of the government of the Autonomous Community of Galicia in Spain signed accords with Marta Lomas, Cuba's Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration (MINVEC). In the meeting held at the MINVEC building in Havana, Lomas thanked the autonomous government for the aid offered to Cuba and said this is a step forward in strengthening bilateral relations. (Invasor, El País, 8/12/07)

December 10: The Cuban sugar harvest began at a mill in the eastern province of Granma with predictions of a "difficult period" due to rains that have fallen in recent months in that part of the island, state media reported. Communist Party daily Granma said the areas pounded by heavy rains from mid-October through early November were home to the plantations that contributed most to last year's successful harvest. Even so, the processing of sugar cane that was started in Granma "should exceed, even if only slightly, the 45 tons per hectare (18 tons per acre) of the past harvest," the newspaper said. It also said that in the current harvest the "great challenge" is repairing the rain-destroyed roads that link sugar cane zones with the factories and ensuring that the harvest does not take longer than the expected 86 days. Officials within the sugar sector announced the participation of 52 mills in the cane processing and an increase of more than 12 percent in the volume of raw material they have to work with compared to what had been planned for in 2006, the state news agency Prensa Latina reported. (EFE, 10/12/07)  

December 11: The Young Communist League (UJC) will ask the government to open up jobs to recent grads who are rejected by companies and pass on quietly to unemployment, reported the official newspaper Juventud Rebelde. Unemployment amongst the young was one of the topics most debated during the recently concluded sixth plenary meeting of the National Committee of the UJC, according to the article. “We have encountered many obstacles to solve this situation, like some entities do not take young grads and this is not being criticized at the local committees (of the UJC) in those places,” said Maday Iglesias, member of the national bureau of the organization. (La Jornada, 12/12/07)

December 11: More than half of the highways damaged by Tropical Storm Noel, in eastern Santiago de Cuba province, have been repaired and traffic has been restored, sources from the Ministry of Construction reported. Over 1,559 miles of highway are operating normally, although definitive repairs are still pending due to the great magnitude of the damage and the accumulated deterioration due to lack of maintenance. During this initial stage of rehabilitation, five bridges and 28 factories were repaired, making access easier to several communities cut off by the heavy rains in the beginning of November. (Prensa Latina, 11/12/07)

December 12: The mothballed Cienfuegos refinery in Cuba will be restarted on December 21 following a major upgrade, with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in attendance, an official with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA told the press. Cienfuegos was originally built with Soviet assistance, but mothballed shortly after the demise of the USSR more than a decade ago. In 2005, PDVSA and its Cuban counterpart, Cupet, launched a joint venture to retool the refinery. PDVSA will also supply the crude for refining. PDVSA President and Venezuelan Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said in November that the upgrade cost $83 million, with the refinery's throughput capacity being expanded to 110,000 b/d from the original 70,000 b/d. (Platts Commodity News, 12/12/07)  

December 12: Bilateral trade between Cuba and China continued to witness a noticeable increase, and more made-in-China products have become a part of the Cuban people's daily life. Bilateral trade totalled some 1.87 billion US dollars in the January-October period this year, up 30.9 percent compared with the same period of last year, according to the statistics published by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. China's exports to Cuba in the period reached 921.02 million dollars while Cuba's exports to China were 948.82 million dollars. This makes China Cuba's second largest trade partner after Venezuela and places Cuba as China's largest Latin American trade partner. (Xinhua, 12/12/07)

December 13: Brazil is interested in enhancing scientific-technical collaboration with Cuba in all sectors, the island's Foreign Trade Minister Raul de la Nuez told the press in Brasilia. In an interview with the press, the Cuban minister referred to the work of the Intergovernmental Joint Commission, which should conclude on December 14. "We analyzed projects of collaboration in different sectors and drew up accords to be included in the act that should be inked by the end of the meeting," De la Nuez said. The Cuban minister met with Brazilian Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao, and the president of "Banco do Brasil", Antonio Francisco de Lima Neto. During the meetings it was analyzed the state of exports of biotechnology products this year, and the homologation of titles. De la Nuez also visited the Federal Confederation of Companies. The agenda includes talks with authorities from the Tourism and Finance Ministries. (Prensa Latina, 13/12/07)

December 13: Cuban Communications and Computer Science Minister Ramiro Valdes traveled for a working visit to China, related to telecom issues, diplomatic sources reported. The delegation led by Valdes will also participate in the sessions of the International Joint Commission Cuba-China, aimed to check bilateral ties. The also Commander of the Revolution and Member of the State Council met with Chinese Minister of Computer Sciences Industry Wang Xudong. During the meeting they analyzed the progress of cooperation relations in this sector. (Prensa Latina, 13/12/07)

December 14: The second State Meeting of Cooperation with Cuba began in the Spanish city of Bilbao, to foster collaboration between the different actors of cooperation between Spain and Cuba. The meeting was convoked by the Euskadi-Cuba Association to discuss ways to obtain better coooperation between institutions, public organizations and non-governmental organizations of Spain with Cuban entities. The topics to be discussed in Bilbao include food sovereignty, sugar re-conversion, environment, ecology and renewable energy. Representatives of the Cuban Ministries of Sugar, Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration, and delegates from farmers, women, cultural and agricultural organizations will take part in the event. (Prensa Latina, 14/12/07)

December 14: The Cuban pharmaceutical industry is developing millionaire investments to improve the production of medications and to reach the basic required standards in health programs. During the third International Congress of Pharmacology and Therapy, Engineer Ramón Arango, director of Quality and Development in the Cuban Pharmaceutical Industry, said that seven top technology plants are being built with that objective. “These new facilities will increase the production of factors of clotting, oral suspensions, ecological aerosols, sanitary pads, diapers for children and adults, eyewashes, pills, and other lines”, Arango said. Also among the main tasks are included the modification of 10 production lines dedicated to the elaboration of solutions for hemodialisis, chemical reagents that are used in diagnoses and other medical products. (Cuba News Headlines, 14/12/07)

December 14: The Cuban firm DESOFT, attached to the Ministry of Computer Science and Communications, is designing a statistic system for the London-based International Coffee Organization (ICO). According to a corporate profile made available to the press, the project destined for ICO envisages an updated ICO guide-book system. The source stressed that DESOFT also offers services and specialists to Venezuelan, Spanish and Brazilian firms. (Prensa Latina, 14/12/07)

December 15: A Cuban delegation headed by Information Technology and Telecommunications Minister Ramiro Valdes visited the Chinese industrial city of Zhuhai, where the group was welcomed by mayor Zheng Shijian. Zheng, who is also deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Party’s Municipal Committee, praised the close collaboration between the island and important enterprises in the region. The possibility of expanding economic and friendship ties between Zhuhai and Cuban firms was part of the talks between Valdes and his host. As part of the tour of Guangdong southern province, Valdes and his delegation met with representatives of enterprises in Shenzhen city, located on the industrialized delta of Perla River. (Prensa Latina, 15/12/07)

December 15: Cuba will spend more than $2 billion over five years to upgrade its dilapidated public transportation system, state media reported. The Communist Party newspaper Granma quoted Transportation Minister Jorge Luis Sierra saying the improvements include adding 1,500 buses to the public fleet. Vice Minister Joel Beltran Archer said that more than $1 billion already had been invested in the nation's public transport in three years as the country struggles to recover from a severe financial crisis in the early 1990s after the Soviet Union collapsed and Cuba lost its preferential trade. Other plans include extensive repairs to the pothole-pocked main highways across the Caribbean island and the addition of more than 1,000 taxis to urban streets in the coming year. (AP, 15/12/07)

December 15: For the fourth consecutive year Cuba received more than two million foreign tourists in 2007, which reflects the growing preference for the Cuban tourist product in the international market. The official ceremony to mark the arrival of two million visitors in 2007 took place in Jardines del Rey, in central Ciego de Avila province, which is one of the main tourist resorts on the island along with Varadero and Havana City. During the ceremony, it was announced that the Cuban International Tourism Fair of next year will take place from May 5th to the 9th and it will have Italy as the guest country. The event will be dedicated to the integration of Tourism and Culture. (ACN, 17/12/07)

December 16: Presently, 50 per cent Cuba’s agricultural lands are unused or poorly exploited, while the main actors of the sector revealed to the official newspaper Juventud Rebelde a list of internal problems that prevent production from taking off. The president of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), Orlando Lugo Fonte, pointed out that the key to feeding the population "is in giving resources to those who have the land; to give land to those who want it and deserve it; and to solve the problems of commercialization.” (EFE, 16/12/07)

December 16: Cuba and Cambodia gave a new step in favour of their cooperation with the signing of several agreements in areas like health, biotechnology, education and culture, and agriculture. At the closure of the Third Session of the Intergovernmental Commission for the Economic and Science-technique Collaboration, both parts ended talks aimed at strengthening joint actions towards their development. (Prensa Latina, 16/12/07)

December 17: Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade Raul de la Nuez said his recent visit to Brazil heading a delegation to the Cuba-Brazil joint inter-governmental commission was highly positive. The Cuban minister met with the president of the Brazilian National Bank to analyze the credits granted to Cuba to buy Brazilian products, the majority of which are food items. Nuez said Cuba's deadline to spend the remaining credit was put off to the first trimester of 2008 and current expectations were surpassed at the meeting,  which he said will help expand bilateral relations. “There are many areas where their will be an increase exchange, among them, agriculture, health and education, and we are analyzing aspects in the energy sector,” said De la Nuez, who said that next year will be decisive for consolidating economic and commercial exchange. (ACN, 17/12/07)

December 17: A refurbished Soviet-era oil refinery passed a series of hydraulic tests and will be activated on December 21 in time for a visit by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose government helped bankroll the improvements, Cuban state media reported. The Camilo Cienfuegos refinery will initially process 65,000 barrels of crude oil a day, but its capacity is expected to steadily increase, according to the island's official news agency. Its operation should push Cuba 's daily production over 100,000 barrels per day. Improvements at the refinery, a Cuban-Venezuelan joint project first announced in April 2006, have so far cost more than $136 million. The refinery has largely stood idle since the Soviet Union collapsed, ending billions of dollars in annual subsidies it once provided Cuba. When fully operational, the refinery will employ 1,200 workers. (AP, 17/12/07) 

December 18: Cuban First Vice President Raul Castro will head the Cuban delegation that will participate in the Fourth Petrocaribe Summit that will take place in the central Cuban city of Cienfuegos. During a press conference, Deputy Foreign Minister Alejandro Gonzalez announced that 12 heads of state and government out of the 16 countries that make up the regional energy cooperation body have already confirmed their presence on the island for this event. Some of the leaders who have confirmed their attendance are the presidents of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez; Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega; Haiti, Rene Preval; and the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernandez. Also confirmed are the prime ministers of Jamaica, Bruce Golding; Antigua and Barbuda, Baldwin Spencer; and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves. Gonzalez explained that, on this occasion, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago will again participate as guests while Guatemala and Honduras will do it for the first time in the same condition. (ACN, 19/12/07)

December 19: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived in Cuba to participate in the Fourth Petrocaribe Summit that takes place in the central city of Cienfuegos. During his stay on the island, the Venezuelan president will also visit the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba and will meet with leaders of the Cuban Revolution. (ACN, 20/12/07)

December 19: The Cuban government announced that it will eliminate almost completely the annoying blackouts, thanks to the so-called "energy revolution" which the country started in 2005. "In the future there will be no more blackouts in Cuba," read a headline in the daily Juventud Rebelde which reported on the intervention by the minister of the Basic Industry, Yadira García, in the Roundtable TV program. (ACN, 20/12/07)

December 20: China and Cuba signed in Beijing the final declaration of the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Commission between the two countries, which includes the results achieved in 2007 and the priorities for 2008. The document was signed by Cuban Minister of Government Ricardo Cabrisas and Chinese vice Minister of Trade Wei Jianguo, who headed their respective delegations. Cuban Minister of Information and Telecommunications Ramiro Valdes also took part in the session after a work visit to China to hold talks with political and governmental leaders, as well as important company executives. Other participants included the coordinator of the Commander in Chief support group, Manuel Menendez, vice ministers Alberto Rodriguez Arufe (Information) and Ramon Ripoll (Foreign Investment), and Carlos Miguel Pereira, Cuban ambassador to China. (Prensa Latina, 20/12/07)

December 20: Cuba may accept more foreign investment in agriculture to try to reduce food imports and revive state lands that have fallen into disuse, an official at the Foreign Investment and Cooperation Ministry told the press. "We are analyzing how to increase investment in the sector with the goal of substituting imports," said Anaiza Rodriguez, director of the Department of Investment Project Evaluation and Management. Rodriguez said Cuba was involved in a total of 233 joint ventures. "This is a different moment," Rodriguez said when asked if policy was changing and agriculture would become more investor friendly. "Food is our biggest import and we have to produce it here," she said, pointing to Raul Castro's 26th July speech. Cuba imports hundreds of thousands of tons of rice, soy products, wheat, corn and other bulk foods annually, around 25 percent from the United States under a 2000 amendment to the trade embargo that allows agricultural sales for cash. Rodriguez said the ministry was looking at proposals from Argentina, Venezuela and other Latin American as well as European countries to grow soy and other grains and cereals in Cuba, but would not say when agreements might be signed. (Reuters, 20/12/07)

December 20: Cuba is to open an abandoned oil refinery and a project to expand a nickel plant will go live by the end of the year, as the island resumes industrial development after the years of crisis that followed the Soviet Union’s demise. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez will be in the southern port city of Cienfuegos to inaugurate the originally Soviet-era refinery, a 50/50 venture between the two states’ oil companies that will process 65,000 barrels a day of Venezuelan crude for the Cuban market and 14 other Caribbean countries, such as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. In eastern Holguin province, where Cuba’s vast nickel and cobalt reserves are located, the first phase of a $500m (€348m, £252m) expansion of the Moa nickel plant, a joint venture with Canada’s Sherritt International, will add 4,000 tonnes to output in 2008 and up to 14,000 tonnes when completed. Cuba’s three existing nickel processing plants have operated at their 70,000-75,000 tonne capacity for many years. A fourth plant in the area, which was left unfinished with the end of European communism, will be completed by 2010 in yet another Cuban-Venezuelan joint venture. (Financial Times, 20/12/07)

December 21: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez proposed extending a barter scheme used by Cuba to other Caribbean and Central American nations to help them pay for oil supplies with products and services. At a summit of his growing regional energy alliance, Petrocaribe, the leftist firebrand attacked the United States and other rich consumer nations for squandering their unfair share of world resources. "In spite of the Yankees, our oil and gas will always be at the service, first of Venezuela, and at the same time of our brother nations of Latin American and the Caribbean," he said. "We have begun to create a new geopolitics of oil that is not at the service of the interests of imperialism and big capitalists," Chavez said in a speech. Petrocaribe allows members to defer payment on 40 percent of their Venezuelan oil bill for up to 25 years, with interest of only one percent. Critics say the deal supplies oil at market prices and is increasing the indebtedness of small Caribbean states. Acting Cuban President Raul Castro co-hosted the summit in the southern city of Cienfuegos. He also spoke to the regional leaders. ''At a time when the oil prices have broken every record, creating an extremely complex situation to most of the oil importing third world nations, the member countries of Petrocaribe are in a privileged position,'' he said. [Key Address by Raul Castro at Petrocaribe Summit; Intervención de Hugo Chávez en la Cumbre de Petrocaribe] (Reuters, 21/12/07)

December 21: Fidel Castro sent a letter to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez congratulating him on his "brilliant'' job of hosting the Petrocaribe summit on the island nation, according to Cuba's state news service. Chavez, the Cuban leader's biggest ally and a self- proclaimed socialist "revolutionary,'' met with Castro on December 20, according to Granma, the official Communist party daily. "You spoke with clarity, precision and brevity,'' Castro wrote in his note to Chavez, according to Cuba's state news service. "In synthesis, you've been brilliant, not only in your opening statements, but also during the summit.'' [Mensaje de Fidel a Chavez] (Bloomberg, AP, 21/12/07)

December 21: The final declaration of the Fourth Petrocaribe Summit described the regional energy project as a model of cooperation among developing countries, guided by solidarity and special treatment towards nations with fewer energy resources. The heads of state and government’s attending the summit approved the document during the final working session at the Jagua hotel in the south-central Cuban city of Cienfuegos. [Petrocaribe Final Declaration] (ACN, 21/12/07)

December 21: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez oversaw the reopening of an oil refinery renovated with his country's help. The Camilo Cienfuegos refinery was renovated in 18 months after standing idle more than a decade following the Soviet Union's collapse. ''We truly believe in solidarity, cooperation and the joint capacity to develop our countries for our people,'' Cuba's provisional president Raul Castro said, joining Chavez at the event at the end of the Petrocaribe summit. Billboards featuring Chavez and ailing Fidel Castro greeted the Venezuelan president in Cienfuegos, a port city 160 miles southwest of Havana. Castro has not appeared in public since falling ill in mid-2006. Raul Castro, running Cuba since his brother underwent stomach surgery 16 months ago, said the US trade embargo had prevented Cuba from operating the Cienfuegos refinery since 1995. "It has not been easy to keep our socialist revolution going with a fierce enemy 90 miles away, but we are here to stay," he said. [Raul Castro’s closing speech at the Petrocaribe Summit; Discurso de Hugo Chávez en la clausura de Petrocaribe, refinería de Cienfuegos] (AP, Reuters, 21/12/07)

December 22: Cuba and Venezuela inked 14 agreements to broaden cooperation between the two countries. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez bolstered his cooperation with Cuba by signing energy, farming and finance accords, including a deal to expand one of his socialist ally's oil refineries. Chavez attended the signing ceremony in Santiago de Cuba with Raul Castro, who has governed Cuba since his brother, Fidel Castro, handed over power after surgery. "We are together and will be together forever," Chavez said at the close of the event. "We are conscious that we are one nation." One of the deals will expand the capacity of Cuba's Cienfuegos crude refinery from 65,000 bpd to 150,000 bpd. Other agreements included helping to restore a pipeline from the refinery and expanding agriculture and mining projects. [Acuerdos bilaterales; Intervención de Raul Castro; Discurso de Hugo Chavez] (Reuters, 22/12/07)

December 22: Commercial exchange between Cuba and Venezuela is expected to reach 7 billion dollars this year, Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage informed in Santiago de Cuba. When the first steps to strengthen mutual trade links were taken in 1998, it summed up 388 million dollars, he recalled. The Cuban official made the statements at the closing of a ceremony, when the two countries signed 14 new integration deals. As many as 39,000 Cubans are currently working in Venezuela in practically all sectors, with nearly 31,000 of them in health services, he sustained. In addition, over 3,500 young Venezuelans are being trained as doctors at Cuban universities, while the Barrio Adentro-1 program is forming another 26,000 doctors in that country with the aid of Cuban professors, Lage noted. The Cuban vice president called Petrocaribe integrationist initiative "an exceptional event in history," given the easy payment terms for regional countries. Lage also recalled other integrationist and solidarity actions encouraged by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, such as "UnaSur" and the Bank of the South. [Discurso de Carlos Lage] (Prensa Latina, 23/12/07)

December 26: Cuban oil and gas output rose only slightly to the equivalent of 4 million tonnes this year despite a significant increase in investment. Oil output was 2.9 million tonnes, or around 57,000 bpd, assuming 7 barrels per tonne, down slightly from the 2.98 million tonnes reported in 2006. Natural gas production was reported at 1.215 billion cubic meters, up from the 920 million cubic meters reported in 2006. Vice President Carlos Lage, during a Christmas Day tour of oil facilities, praised efforts to maintain output despite the natural depletion of existing wells, and in particular the use of natural gas to generate 15 percent of the country's electricity. Lage said Cuba produced 47 percent of its fuel needs. Cuba bought and rented 10 Chinese drilling rigs in recent years, Lage said, and drilled 32 wells in 2007 -- mostly in partnership with Canadian company Sherritt International -- compared with 23 wells in 2006. Lage said a record number of seismic studies were carried out on land, just off the coast, and in Cuba's Gulf of Mexico waters where various foreign companies have taken out blocks. (Reuters, 26/12/07)

December 27: Vietnam and Cuba plan to construct the second phase of the Ho Chi Minh (CT-HCM) viaduct, likely to be the largest in Southeast Asia. The project's implementation which began in 2000 includes three stages with a total extension of about 1864 miles when it will be completed in 2020. When the contract was signed, the supervision committee of CT-HCM, the investment entity, expressed satisfaction for the progress of the work. Similar appraisals were made by representatives of Cuba's firm Quality Courriers International (QCI), which is in charge of consultancy and supervision of the works. (PressTV, 27/12/07)

December 28: Cuba said its economy grew 7.5 percent in 2007, the fourth year the Communist-run country has reported a big increase in the gross domestic product since being plunged into crisis by the Soviet Union's demise. Economy and Planning Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez told a year-end session of parliament a 10 percent target was not reached due to the heaviest rains since the early 1960s, import delays and other factors.
Rodriguez said Cuba's GDP would increase 8 percent in 2008. "The results are significant and above the 5.4 percent norm for the region (…) and at the same time demonstrate the gradual consolidation of the economy," Rodriguez said. Rodriguez reported a 24.7 percent rebound in the agricultural sector, 7.8 percent in industrial activity, 7.9 percent in transportation and 11.7 percent in services. Growth was reported as 12.5 percent in 2006, 11.8 percent in 2005 and 5 percent in 2004, based on a unique Cuban formula that outside experts such as the Economist Intelligence Unit and the CIA say may overstate the GDP by 3-4 percentage points. [Presentación a la Asamblea Nacional de José Luis Rodríguez] (Reuters, 28/12/07)

December 28: Osvaldo Martinez, head of the legislature's economic affairs commission, said the island's sugar harvest — and a government push to build new homes — had failed to meet expectations. He blamed slowing growth on an "intense rise" in the cost of food and fuel imports — the island spends $1.6 billion to import food each year — and on falling tourism. [Palabras de Osvaldo Martínez ] (AP, 28/12/07)

December 31: Cuba has been provided with two new planes TU 204-100 E from the Russian company Ilyushin Finance Co. This new plane is part of the modernization process of the island’s fleet for several uses. The Cuban First Vice President of Civil Aeronautics Jose Prieto said that the planes will be used in solidarity missions the island develops in Latin America, among them the Vision Now mission, of ophthalmologic attention. The agreement includes a third plane of that type devoted to freight that joins two IL 96 300 previously acquired, aimed at modernizing the country's fleet. (Prensa Latina, 31/12/07)

December 31: Trade between Cuba and China grew by 23 percent to more than US$2 billion (1.4 billion euros) in 2007, solidifying China's place as the communist-run island's second-largest economic benefactor behind oil-rich Venezuela. China is Cuba's second-largest trading partner and the top importer of Cuban products, especially nickel and sugar, Cuba's official news agency Prensa Latina reported from Beijing, without giving exact figures. In 2006, trade between the two countries totaled US$1.8 billion (1.2 billion euros) — double that of 2005, China's ambassador to Havana said in March. Chinese consumer goods are increasingly common on the island, and hundreds of Chinese-made buses and trains have helped ease chronic transportation problems, especially on long-distance routes. The Cuban government has also distributed new Chinese appliances on credit to families, in an effort to reduce the amount of energy consumed by the hulking, decades-old Russian-made refrigerators and stoves once commonplace in the island. Cuba-China trade figures also include billions of dollars (euros) in favorable credits Beijing has extended Havana in recent years, which has seen the island's debt levels soar. (AP, 31/12/07)