OREANDA-NEWS. May 28, 2008. Belarus and Cuba intend to expand the bilateral trade economic cooperation. The statement to this effect was made at a meeting between Viktor Burya, the Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus, and Jorge Luis Sierra, the Transport Minister of the Republic of Cuba, in Minsk, reported the Official website www.government.by. 

The sides noted that Cuba is an important trading partner of the Republic of Belarus in Latin America. In the volume of the Belarusian exports, Cuba takes the fourth place among the countries of the region after Brazil, Venezuela and Columbia.

In Q1 2008, the bilateral trade reached \\$10,1 million, seven times up over the same period of last year. The growth of the Belarusian exports to Cuba totaled 670% up to \\$9,2 million. Belarus mainly exported potash fertilizers (\\$4,7 million), tractors (\\$2,4 million), trucks (\\$1 million), combustion engines (\\$0,5 million). Imports reached \\$0,9 million, ten times up on the same period of 2007.

Belarus-Cuba economic contacts were largely expanded due to the 8th session of the Belarusian-Cuban joint commission for trade and economic cooperation in Havana in March 2008. The session defined promising areas of cooperation. The transport sector can become one of the major cooperation areas.

The Transport Ministry of Cuba is in need to restore the motor (passenger and freight), railway and sea transport. Cuba plans to purchase about 1,500 buses in line with the programme on bus modernization. Cuba will import some 200 multifunctional trucks for passenger and freight hauls in uplands in 2008. The country is also going to put a chunk of resources in the motor transport infrastructure (construction of roads, railways, deliveries of port and other transport equipment). Cuba will put nearly \\$2 billion in the transport sector within the next five years.