• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 09 / 26 / 2010

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President Mauricio Funes during his upcoming visit to Havana will be accompanied by a large delegation of  businesspeople, El Salvador’s foreign minister announced.

Fifty businesspeople said they will accompany Funes to Havana during the first week of October, Hugo Martínez said, according to daily newspaper La Página. This is the first visit of a Salvadoran president since the two countries resumed diplomatic relations last year.

The businesspeople will have the opportunity to meet Cuban peers during a one-on-one round of negotiations, Martínez said. Work groups include construction, tourism, food production, and pharmaceuticals.

The trip was initially planned for the first week of September, but Funes delayed it on Aug. 23, due to “questions of the national agenda.”

“This is not only a visit to relaunch [diplomatic] relations with Cuba, suspended during 50 years,” Funes said in August. “It’s about opening business opportunities for Salvadoran entrepreneurs.”

A number of Salvadoran companies already doing business with Cuba, such as Industrias Capri (export of mattresses), López Davidson (export of pharmaceuticals), and Taca Airlines (flights to and within Cuba).

Cuba is expected to provide health, education and sports services to El Salvador, and the two countries will cooperate in scientific research. The details are currently being negotiated.

Source: www.cubastandard.com/2010/09/21/funes-to-be-escorted-by-large-business-d...