Japan Times.
Wednesday, November 22, 2000 .
Ricardo Alarcon, visiting chief of the Cuban national assembly, on Tuesday
called on Japan to boost bilateral trade and invest more in the Caribbean
country.
Alarcon, who is visiting at the invitation of the Diet, said in a meeting
with Foreign Minister Yohei Kono that his country has been trying to raise
foreign direct investment since 1993 as part of its efforts to improve the
economy. He said Cuba wants Japanese companies to increase investments,
government officials said.
Alarcon has held important diplomatic posts in the Cuban government and is
seen as a potential successor to Cuban President Fidel Castro, along with Vice
President Carlos Lage and Castro's brother, Raul Castro. Alarcon's visit follows
Lage's official visit to Tokyo last month.
Kono said he expects to see an improvement in bilateral trade ties, as the
two countries will hold a bilateral business forum of Japanese trading companies
and Cuban trade officials in January in Tokyo, the first in 14 years, the
officials said.
Progress in bilateral economic relations has been improving since a November
1999 trade mission led by Hiroshi Mitsuzuka, head of the Japanese-Cuban
parliamentary league, visited Cuba with some 60 Japanese businesspeople. Japan
and Cuba subsequently reached an agreement on rescheduling Cuba's short-term
official debts to the Japanese government.
Kono said these efforts by politicians and private-sector entities will help
improve bilateral ties.
Alarcon also called for cultural and sports-related exchanges to be
enhanced, the officials said.
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