Cuba and Bolivia gave a boost to their economic and commercial relations with a Complementary Economic Agreement that both sides signed on Wednesday in La Paz, the Bolivian capital.

Cuban Foreign Trade Vice Minister Pedro Luis Padron told Prensa Latina news agency that this accord reaffirms the existing close ties between the governments and peoples of both countries as it includes market access facilities, among other preferences.

He noted that the duty-free policy for the buying and selling of products from both countries - one of the benefits - is in accordance with the agreements of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) and the Trade Treaty of the Peoples (TCP), signed by both governments.

Padron said that food and items of clothing are some of the products with more perspectives for bilateral trade, which in 2006 rose to the tune of $50 million.

For her part, the Bolivian Minister of Production and Micro-Management, Celinda Sosa, praised the possibilities of development in the productive sector that the ALBA-TCP accords give to her country.

She added that the modest participation of Bolivian firms in the International Trade Fair of Havana and the participation of Cuban companies in the fairs of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz show the potential that exists for a larger exchange that can benefit both peoples.
(acn)