Spain to forge stronger ties with Cuba after US blockade lifted
Monday, April 25, 2016 @ 1:33 PM
SPANISH businesses are hoping to set up in Cuba as soon as possible following the thaw with the USA, and foreign affairs minister José Manuel García-Margallo is planning a visit.
A representative from the Spanish Chamber of Commerce is also expected to travel to Cuba, and the Naval training ship, the Juan Sebastián Elcano (pictured) will stop off in the port of La Habana.
Beer company Estrella Damm, bathroom fixtures manufacturer Roca, and various hotel chains are looking to set up on the island.
Spain's national government intends to strike a pact with Cuba, calling the debt of €375 million the former colony still has with it an 'investment' and not requiring it to be paid back.
Due to the political impasse with Spain having failed to form a government in the four months since the general election, neither the acting president nor King Felipe can pay an official visit to Cuba, but business and foreign relations heads want to get there as soon as they can.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com