The UAE is keen to strengthen co-operation with the Republic of Cuba in areas such as trade and economy, investment and tourism, as the bilateral economic support will significantly benefit the people of both countries, said Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, the UAE Minister of Economy.

"We had the pleasure of exploring Havana and seeing the rich history and diverse culture of Cuba and its efforts to preserve the national identity while adopting new forms of market mechanisms," Al Mansouri said in his opening speech at the UAE-Cuban Business Forum, hosted by the Cuban Chamber of Commerce at its headquarters in the capital city of Havana.

The Cuban side was headed by Rodrigo Malmierca, Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign investment.

The forum was also attended by Bader Abdullah Saeed Al Matrooshi, the UAE Ambassador to Cuba; officials from the federal governments; local and national companies, entrepreneurs and investors. The event was organised by the UAE Ministry of Economy, in co-operation with its Cuban counterpart, and also saw senior officials and representatives from the government and private sectors of both sides.

The UAE Minister expressed his hope of building strong tourism, investment, economic and trade relations, based on the two countries’ strategic roles as gateways to the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

"Cuba is one of the most influential countries in the Caribbean and is among the most prominent among our business partners. Our bilateral trade for the first half of this year reached US$9.1 million while our total trade for 2015 was at US$23.095 million. We are confident of increasing these figures in the future through the promotion of co-operation and the exchange of visits between the two sides, which will spur even more investments," Al Mansouri said.

"We are interested in developing major partnerships between our countries and co-operatively pursuing strategic opportunities in tourism, hospitality and food processing. We would also like to explore investment possibilities in the areas of logistics, transportation and aviation. The UAE warmly extends the hand of friendship to Cuba and expresses its full support for Cuba’s development vision. We look forward to the new horizons to be revealed by this forum, which we shall mutually explore as we work together towards achieving prosperity and peace for our two countries," he added.

During his opening speech, Malmierca also emphasised his country's interest in enhancing relations with the UAE, pushing trade between the two countries to advanced levels, and helping their respective business communities take advantage of the investment opportunities offered by both countries.

The forum focussed on building economic, investment and trade relations between the two countries and exploring opportunities in innovation, information technology, industrial zones and tourism. It also discussed investment prospects for the UAE companies in Cuba.

The participants also stressed the importance of strengthening ties between the business communities and private sectors of both sides. This would open up promising prospects and new markets for economic co-operation and trade exchange, which would spell great mutual benefit and also unveil opportunities for exchanging experiences and expertise in the areas of trade, investment and joint ventures.

During the event, Bader Abdullah Saeed Al Matrooshi, the UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba, also told the official UAE news agency WAM the country is eager to enhance its relations with Cuba in various fields.

The Ambassador lauded the visit of the UAE delegation and the organisation of the UAE-Cuban Business Forum, along with its anticipated results, which he said, would fully support the advanced and mutually beneficial relations between the UAE and Cuba, especially in the economic, trade and investment fields.

Juma Mohammed Kait, the Ministry of Economy’s Under-Secretary for Foreign Trade Affairs, emphasised the UAE government’s full commitment to enhancing economic and investment relations with several countries, particularly those in Latin America, which is considered a region rich in opportunities and exploring potentials that enable the development of promising economic partnerships that can greatly benefit both sides.

The UAE looks forward to enhancing economic ties with Cuba in all aspects of trade and investment, as well as improving relations in tourism and technical sectors that Cuba excels in, he added. The technical sectors would be of great interest to the UAE as it strives to transform into a sustainable knowledge-based economy, he explained.

In their exclusive statements to WAM, several government representatives, investors and businessmen expressed their confidence that these bilateral relations would be as successful as the previous ones in other areas of the world and it would lead to more solid economic co-operation between the two countries.

The UAE and the Republic of Cuba signed an Open Skies Agreement in May 2014.