Russia hopes to boost trade with Cuba to $400mln by year-end - deputy PM

MOSCOW, September 21. /TASS/. Russia expects to increase bilateral trade with Cuba to $400mln by the end of 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said at the meeting of the Russian-Cuban intergovernmental commission on Thursday. "Last year, Russian-Cuban trade grew 82% and 61% this year, which is not over yet. At this pace we expect to reach the level of $400mln by the end of 2017," Rogozin said. The deputy PM stressed that over the past three years serious positive results have been achieved thanks to the work of an intergovernmental commission. "We have made a serious breakthrough, reaching the level of trade and economic ties that demonstrate the maximum done over the past 15 years," Rogozin said. He welcomed a decision of the countries’ leadership to raise the level of the intergovernmental commission to deputy prime ministers, saying this allows the sides to solve issues comprehensively and analyze how ties develop. "We can definitely say that we managed to build cooperation on advancing key projects, including on finding new promising projects and areas of cooperation," Rogozin said, stressing that many these agreements have been implemented. Read more