Cuba’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez will visit Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow next week, the Kremlin spokesperson announced on Friday
EFE (via 14ymedio), Moscow, 7 June 2024 — The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) will invest, in an initial phase, $11.3 million for the Cuban state-owned company BioCubaFarma to develop medicines against geriatric and oncological diseases.
This investment is part of the cooperation agreements signed between the RDIF and a consortium made up of the Cuban firm and Russian pharmaceutical companies during the International Economic Forum now being held in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, according to the official press.
When making the announcement this Thursday, the general director of the RDIF, Kiril Dmitriev, explained that the volume of investments can be increased to 113 million dollars.
Kiril Dmitriev explained that the volume of investments can be increased to 113 million dollars
“BioCubaFarma has become the first partner of the RDIF in Cuba. Combining our efforts and knowledge will allow us to develop and bring to the market innovative medicines against the most complex types of diseases caused, among other things, by age-related changes,” he said.
He also indicated that the Fund is focused on attracting the best pharmaceutical manufacturers in the world to the Russian market in order to locate the research and production of medicines, replace imports and create a base for its own production. “In Russia, BioCubaFarma has registered several companies that develop drugs for the treatment of Parkinson’s and oncological diseases,” he added.
In addition, Cuba has agreements for the development of innovative products with the Academy of Sciences and the main scientific institutes of Russia. Bilateral trade increased nine times in 2023 compared to 2022, when the exchange was 450 million dollars, according to official Russian figures.
A delegation from the Island led by Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas is participating in the St. Petersburg Economic Forum and includes representatives from the Ministries of Transport, Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, and Foreign Affairs.
The trip is part of the growing contacts between the two parties, which next week will see a new episode with the visit of Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez to Russia to attend a ministerial meeting of the BRICS group* in the city of Nizhny Novgorod and meet with his Russian peer, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow, official sources from this country reported this Friday.
“From June 10 to 12, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba will make an official visit to Russia,” the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, María Zakharova, said at a press conference on Friday. Zakharova specified that first Rodríguez – who is currently in China – will leave for Nizhny Novgorod, 400 km east of Moscow, and from there travel to the Russian capital, where on June 12 he will hold negotiations with Lavrov.
“From June 10 to 12, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba will make an official visit to Russia”
During the meeting, both diplomats will address issues related to “a greater strengthening of the strategic partnership in the political, economic-commercial, scientific-technical, cultural, humanitarian and other fields.
The ministers will also talk about international affairs, the sanctions imposed on their countries and the interaction between Russia and Cuba at the UN and other international platforms.
Rodríguez’s visit to Russia comes after the Cuban Government confirmed on Thursday that a Russian naval detachment of three ships and a nuclear submarine will visit the port of Havana between June 12 and 17.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in a statement that the “visit corresponds to the historic friendly relations between Cuba and the Russian Federation and strictly adheres to the international regulations” signed by Havana.
The statement does not mention military exercises, although recently published American sources pointed out that Russian ships were traveling to the Caribbean Sea to participate in maneuvers and that they could stop at ports in Cuba and Venezuela.
*Translator’s note: An acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which created an economic cooperation group to counter the traditional Western-led global order.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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