Havana - Rodrigo Malmierca, Minister for Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX), has urged businessmen here today to optimize the use of available resources, after summarizing the work of the Chamber of Commerce of Cuba (CCC) in 2016.

Malmierca, who described this entity as a space for meeting and exchange between businessmen, stated the importance for the country to continue diversifying the international relations and sources of income.

The minister referred to the contraction of the Gross Domestic Product and the fall experienced by the economy in 2016, due to internal and external factors, which are worsened by the current problems of liquidity in currency.

As for the progress of the negotiation process in foreign investment, he called to speed up this activity.

The country currently has 399 foreign investment projects worth $9 billion USD, Malmierca said.

He congratulated the CCC for conducting business forums and missions carried out by businessmen to Cuba, as well as the increase in the number of associates, which amounted to 709 companies.

CCC President, Orlando Hernandez, previously stated that the period was characterized by a wide and diverse activity.

He stressed that the trend started in 2014 to increase visits of businessmen interested in the Cuban market remained in 2016, and investments in the sectors of energy, tourism, oil and industry stood out among others.

Deputy MINCEX Minister, Ileana Nuñez, and the director of the Center for the Promotion of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (ProCuba), Roberto Verrier, also spoke about the scope of the cooperation agreement signed between Cuba and the European Union in December 2016, and the results of the services provided by ProCuba to the business sector, respectively.