Baracocoa, delights announced

Raquel Sierra, Sunday September 7, 2025

digital@opciones.cu

Archivo JR

With the new joint venture for processing cocoa, the idea is impelling production and exports in the Guantanamo province -precisely where production is higher.  Baracocoa S.A. a joint venture among the Cuban food and beverage corporations Alimcor S.A. and the Slovak firm Proxenta a.s., a new entity emerges as a first experience of this kind in Guantanamo.  The new firm, approved by the Council of Ministers in Cuba, signed by Dariel Lamadrid Martin (directive of Alimcor) and by Paul Kozik (president of the Proxenta Group), was created to process, produce and commercialize chocolates and a range of cocoa and chocolate derived assortments, mixes and premixes, pasta and fats associated with confectionery.  

According to both parties they are interested in working together for the success of the Baracocoa S.A. joint venture, whose fruits would impact both the development of the Cuban economy and benefit the Cuban population while stimulating cocoa producers in the eastern area of Baracoa to higher levels of production.

According to Javier Francisco Aguiar Rodríguez, first vice-minister of Food Industry (Minal), the creation of this company is not only a business achievement but also a bridge that unites the cultures, knowledge and markets of both countries. He thanked the president of the Proxenta a.s. group for his decision in investing and joining forces with Alimcor S.A. that makes possible combining deep international experience, advanced technology and access to global markets with our knowledge of local markets, production, distribution network and consumer preferences.

There is an underlying commitment to innovation and product quality, he added, to satisfy increasingly demanding consumers while betting in favor of mutual and sustainable growth. This new alliance, he added, will generate economic opportunities, favor the development of cocoa production in Baracoa and create valuable employment benefiting both parties and the communities connected with the joint venture.  

The Cuban commercial market, still regulated, lacks productive capacity, therefore, total sale in the domestic market is guaranteed. The official page of Proxenta explains that growing national demand and gradual recovery of tourism allow for an increase of productive capacity.

This is the second joint venture constituted by a Slovak enterprise in Cuba. Dedicated to confectionery, Proxcor joined Caibarien in the Villa Clara province in 2019 holding a 51 percent majority participation and with a signed contract for 25 years. When Proxcor-Caibarien achieves full productive capacity, as planned for 2027, it would produce 17 000 tons of confectionery per year and be able to import substitution. Proxcor-Caibarien will produce and commercialize basic lines: cookies, wafers, hard candies with and without filling and cereals.  

The Foreign Investment Universe in Cuba

Until June this year (2025) Cuba had 374 foreign investment contracts -Contracts of International Economic Association (Contratos de Asociación Económica Internacional CAEI), joint ventures and totally foreign corporations -as per the Report Institutional Organization. Main Entities from the National Office of Statistics and Information (Informe Organización Institucional. Principales entidades, de la Oficina Nacional de Estadística e Información (ONEI).

Of those 374, 183 are within the CAEI designation, 125 are joint ventures, and 66 are foreign corporations, the greater volume of foreign investment concentrates in Havana -with 185 of them.

Of the total of foreign investment the larger concentrates into hotels and restaurants (148), manufacturing industries follow (84), business services (28), commerce (27), mining and quarrying exploitation (20), electricity supply (15), transportation (12), financial intermediation (7) and agriculture, livestock, hunting and forestry (5).

In Havana are 70 contracts of the CAEI total, 88 joint ventures and 27 foreign corporations.  In Artemisa there are 56, in Matanzas 44, in Ciego de Ávila 24, in Villa Clara 18, in Holguín 10, in Sancti Spíritus 8, in Santiago de Cuba 7,  in Mayabeque and Cienfuegos 6, in Camagüey 4, in Las Tunas and Granma 2 and in Pinar del Río and the Special Municipality of Island of Youth one in each.

The statistical analysis of ONEI shows that Baracocoa S.A. would be the first foreign investment option in the most eastern provinces of Cuba.  

Translation by NSCUBA (Nova Scotia)

 

The two peoples are united by indestructible and historical ties of friendship and collaboration

Cuba and Laos

Díaz-Canel engaged in dialogue with the top leaders of the Lao People's Democratic Republic

Author: Leticia Martínez Hernández | internet@granma.cu

Author: René Tamayo León | internet@granma.cu

september 8, 2025 

Photo: Estudios Revolución

"Last week we met in Hanoi and Beijing, and now we are here in Vientiane on his state visit to our country, which I firmly believe is another historic milestone in strengthening our friendly relations". With warm words, comrade Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, received on Sunday morning (local time) First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, on his third visit to Laos.

In his welcoming remarks, Sisoulith asked to convey "cordial greetings to comrade Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution, our dear friend," he stressed. He also sent congratulations to comrades Manuel Marrero Cruz, Prime Minister, and Esteban Lazo Hernandez, President of the National Assembly, both members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba.

The Laotian leader welcomed "the traditional cooperation and fraternal solidarity between our two Parties, States and peoples". He valued the current stay of the Caribbean Head of State as another opportunity to continue "consolidating and producing greater results" in the ties of all kinds.
After the official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Vientiane, the political leaders held a wide-ranging dialogue on bilateral relations, which celebrated half a century last year.
Díaz-Canel conveyed to the Laotian President "warm greetings from Army General Raúl Castro Ruz", and thanked him for the warm expressions of affection received by the Cuban delegation since its arrival in Vientiane, where hundreds of children, adolescents and young people have been waiting for them in the streets.
"In my memory, in a very pleasant way - the Cuban leader said - are the memories of the visit we made in 2018 and of the fraternal meetings that you and I have had in Moscow, in May, during the celebrations for the 80th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, and in these days both in Vietnam and in Beijing".
In each of those moments," he remarked, "I realize that our friendly relationship is sincere, honest and very strong, as are the relations between our nations and peoples, because, whenever we meet, a smile and affection are immediately born from both sides.
"Our current visit to Laos, of course, has to do - he added - with the high importance we attach to the development of bilateral ties and political dialogue with the Lao People's Democratic Republic, a country with which we are united by close, indestructible and historical ties of friendship and collaboration."
In the nearly one-hour dialogue between the two presidents, as in the rest of the official activities carried out by Díaz-Canel on Sunday, participated, on the Cuban side, the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla; the member of the Central Committee of the Party and head of its Department of International Relations, Emilio Lozada García; the Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga; and the Cuban Ambassador to Laos, Enna Viant, among other members of the delegation.
The Lao side was represented by Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane; Bounleua Phandanouvong, head of the Foreign Relations Commission of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party; and senior officials of the Ministries of Education, Agriculture, Environment and Industry and Trade, among other leaders.
On Sunday, the Cuban President began his work agenda with the laying of a wreath, in the name of the Cuban people, at the Monument to the Unknown Soldier, which honors the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for the homeland and Lao independence.
ALWAYS AMONG FRIENDS
The Cuban President also held a meeting with Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, who highlighted the relevance of Díaz-Canel's visit to the country.
It is a new opportunity -he said- to further develop bilateral relations and continue strengthening the brotherhood between both Parties, governments and peoples, "testimony of which is -he stressed- the successful exchange held today with our General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President, comrade Thongloun Sisoulith".
Siphandone recalled the fruitful visit paid to Laos by comrade Manuel Marrero Cruz, Prime Minister, to whom he sent affectionate greetings, as well as to the President of the National Assembly, Esteban Lazo Hernández, who last year came to Vientiane to participate together with the Lao people and its authorities in the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
The Cuban leader recalled the date as a symbol of the ties between two peoples, whose friendship and collaboration dates back to the 60s and 70s of the last century, when Cuban doctors were welcomed in the caves of Viengsay to provide care to the Laotian people during their liberation struggle.
It is a friendship -he added- that was forged in the close ties created by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and the National Hero of Laos, President Kaysone Phomvihane. And it was in that relationship of friendship, of brotherhood - said Díaz-Canel - in which our generation grew up, so we are heirs to it and we will continue to be committed to that relationship.
The Head of State conveyed to Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone an affectionate greeting from his colleague, Manuel Marrero Cruz, and extended an invitation to visit Cuba when his schedule permits.
ALWAYS FRIENDS
In the afternoon, the Cuban President also held a meeting with Dr. Chaleun Ylapaoher, Vice President of the National Assembly and President of the Laos-Cuba Friendship Association, who described the Head of State's stay "as a fundamental contribution to strengthen the traditional relationship between the two Parties, the two States and the peoples of Cuba and Laos, which are growing day by day and becoming deeper".
It is a friendship -he said- that historically was consolidated by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and now you, as main leaders of the Cuban Communist Party.
For our part - commented Ylapaoher - we are always attentive to the events in Cuba, to your difficulties, caused by the blockade you have been facing for more than 60 years, but in spite of which you have resisted, and we - he said - will continue to support the people of Cuba and will continue to stand by Cuba's side in its just struggles.
During the conversation, the parliamentary leader made a tour of the activities that the Laos-Cuba Friendship Association has developed during the last year, and asked about "what else" they can do in defense and support to the island.
After thanking "the signs of warmth, friendship, brotherhood, solidarity" received from the Laotian people since he arrived in the country, the Cuban President emphasized the uniqueness of bilateral ties, because despite the geographical distance, "between both peoples and nations we have -he said- a historical relationship based on respect, friendship, solidarity, brotherhood and mutual admiration".
In the last hours of his stay in Vientiane, the President and the Cuban official delegation paid tribute to the Lao National Hero, Kaysone Phomvihane, who played a fundamental role in the revolutionary movement of Laos, in the founding of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and in the construction, together with Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, of the solid and unbreakable friendship and solidarity between the two countries.
While visiting the Kaysone Phomvihane Museum, dedicated to the life and work of the communist leader, it was recalled that next year will mark the 50th anniversary of his visit to Cuba, in which the closeness and friendship that existed between him and Fidel was patented, so it is a date to be celebrated by the two countries.

 

Vietnam donates $15.2 million to Cuba, reaffirming special bilateral ties

• Vietnamnet global

On the morning of September 1, after an official welcome ceremony, General Secretary To Lam held talks with First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

High-level talks between Vietnamese and Cuban leaders. 

During the meeting, the two leaders informed each other about the current situations in their respective countries and discussed measures to strengthen and advance the special traditional friendship between Vietnam and Cuba.

General Secretary To Lam emphasized the special significance of the Cuban leader’s visit, which coincides with the “Vietnam - Cuba Friendship Year” marking 65 years of diplomatic relations. The visit, he noted, is a milestone and a strong driving force for deepening and elevating the bilateral relationship.

The two leaders shared heartfelt reflections on the enduring solidarity between the two peoples, nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh, Comrade Fidel Castro, and generations of leaders and citizens of both nations. They affirmed their belief in a bright future for Vietnam - Cuba relations.

A deep bond reaffirmed in a historic year

President Miguel Díaz-Canel expressed his joy and emotion at returning to Vietnam after seven years. He admired the heroic history of the Vietnamese people and congratulated the nation on its remarkable achievements.

He described Vietnam’s 80-year journey as a profound source of encouragement for the Cuban people during their current challenges. The Cuban President was deeply touched by the warmth of the Vietnamese people and their generous support during Cuba’s recent fundraising campaign.

General Secretary To Lam reiterated that Vietnam closely follows every step of Cuba’s development and is pleased with the significant progress the country has made. He shared valuable insights from Vietnam’s Doi Moi (Renewal) reforms and stated that “solidarity and support for Cuba is a matter of conscience and responsibility for Vietnamese communists and the entire Vietnamese people.”

Vietnam remains resolute in advancing the legacy of Vietnam-Cuba relations by expanding and enhancing bilateral cooperation, particularly to match the potential and high level of mutual trust.

High-level dialogue and strategic coordination

The leaders agreed to reinforce political trust and strategic coordination, maintaining regular high-level visits and dialogue across all channels, including the Party, State, Government, National Assembly, localities, mass organizations, and the people.

Vietnam and Cuba will continue to exchange theoretical perspectives on socialist development, share leadership experiences in socio-economic development, and prepare for their respective national Party Congresses in 2026.

They pledged to boost and deepen cooperation in economy, trade, and investment, with a strategic focus on agriculture, solar energy, and biotechnology-pharmaceuticals.

Cuba committed to creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to invest in rice production and modern agricultural development. These efforts aim to help Cuba enhance local food production and ensure food security - a critical factor in the country's sustainable development.

Vietnam delivers $15.2 million gift to the Cuban people

General Secretary To Lam and President Miguel Díaz-Canel witnessed the handover of the first installment of Vietnam’s gift to Cuba: a donation worth 385 billion VND (approximately $15.2 million USD) from the Vietnamese Party, State, and people to support the Cuban people.

The two leaders agreed to facilitate the establishment of joint ventures between the two countries in pharmaceutical production and technology transfer of bio-products and chemical drugs from Cuba. They also committed to strengthening research and development in advanced biotechnology and pharmaceuticals in Vietnam.

Recognizing shared strengths and priorities, both sides will promote cooperation in defense, security, justice, science and technology, construction, culture, sports, and people-to-people exchanges.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing coordination and mutual support in international organizations and multilateral forums. Vietnam called for the removal of all unilateral sanctions and embargoes against Cuba.

General Secretary To Lam announced the initial results of a 65-day nationwide campaign titled “65 Years of Vietnam - Cuba Solidarity,” launched to mark the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties. The campaign mobilized nearly two million participants and raised almost 400 billion VND (approximately $15.8 million USD), reflecting the deep-rooted solidarity and cooperation between the two countries.

Both leaders reaffirm determination to deepen Vietnam - Cuba ties. 

Strengthening friendship at all levels

Also on the morning of September 1, President Luong Cuong held talks with First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.

President Luong Cuong praised the presence of Cuba’s high-level delegation at this milestone event, noting it symbolized the close, fraternal bond between the two nations and Cuba’s valuable support.

He emphasized Vietnam’s enduring gratitude for Cuba’s unwavering solidarity, both materially and spiritually, and expressed great joy at Cuba’s recent socio-economic achievements. President Luong Cuong voiced confidence that heroic Cuba would overcome its current challenges.

Both leaders affirmed that the Vietnam - Cuba relationship continues to strengthen across all areas.

President Luong Cuong warmly welcomed President Miguel Díaz-Canel, calling him a cherished friend of the Vietnamese people.

President Díaz-Canel, speaking on behalf of the Cuban Party and State, said he was honored to attend the National Day celebration. He emphasized that the event is not only significant for Vietnam but also serves as inspiration for global struggles for independence, freedom, and social justice, including in Cuba.

He was deeply moved by the warm reception from the Vietnamese people and appreciated the valuable solidarity and support from Vietnam, especially in strategic areas such as rice production, food security, and renewable energy.

He commended the determination and efforts of Vietnamese enterprises investing in Cuba and pledged that Cuba would provide the necessary mechanisms and conditions for these businesses to expand.

Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the exemplary Vietnam - Cuba relationship. They agreed to increase high-level contacts, effectively implement bilateral agreements, and leverage cooperation mechanisms between their Parties and States.

They also agreed to expand exchanges and cooperation among political and social organizations, mass organizations, businesses, and citizens of both nations. Efforts will also be made to educate the younger generations about the special friendship between Vietnam and Cuba.

Tran Thuong - Pham Hai