The 20th edition of ExpoCaribe will be held next June

The 20th edition of the ExpoCaribe International Fair, the island's second most important trade fair, will be held from June 23 to 27 at the Heredia Cultural Complex in Santiago de Cuba, with the presence of national and international exhibitors.

The call for entries was announced this Wednesday at a press conference by Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment (Mincex), and Madelaine Cortés Barquillo, Director of Foreign Trade, Foreign Investment, and International Cooperation of Santiago de Cuba and general coordinator of the event.

As always, businesspeople from countries in the region will be able to attend the event to showcase their commercial potential, product and service offerings, and new technologies. They will also have the opportunity to learn about the proposals of Cuban entities and to conduct business deals, particularly with entities from the eastern region of the country, according to Pérez-Oliva.

This time, the fair will also be open to exhibitors from other regions of the world, including Russia, given that the business forum program will dedicate a space to that Eurasian nation. This idea arose in connection with the recent visit to the island by Vice President of the Government of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko, who also held discussions with authorities of Santiago de Cuba.

Also invited are companies and trade, investment, and cooperation promotion agencies from nations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America, as well as representatives in Cuba of United Nations agencies and other multilateral organizations and regions, according to Pérez-Oliva.

The fair's program includes numerous activities, including a portfolio of business opportunities with foreign investment, panels on key economic topics, such as the productive niches of the eastern provinces, and the circular economy. For her part, the event's general coordinator referred to the challenges facing the largest of the Antilles due to the United States economic blockade, and stated that "despite the difficulties, we do not abandon these spaces for dialogue and cooperation."

The official also considered the event an important opportunity for the exchange of knowledge, strengthening regional integration, and defending the well-being of the peoples of the region. Founded in 1992, ExpoCaribe is held annually in Santiago de Cuba with the aim of promoting trade among the countries of the region.

Present at the press conference were members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Cuba, Antonio Carricarte Corona, president of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, and the national and foreign press accredited in the country.