TANAKA Akihiko

Front left, JICA President Akihiko Tanaka and front right, Ricardo Cabrisas, vice-president of the Cuban Council of Ministers

JICA President Akihiko Tanaka held talks with Ricardo Cabrisas, vice-president of the Cuban Council of Ministers at JICA Headquarters in Tokyo on March 12.

At the beginning of the talks, Cabrisas expressed his gratitude to the cooperation JICA has been carrying out in the sectors of agriculture and the environment saying that it has been making an important contribution to the development of Cuba, and that he expected continued cooperation in these sectors.

Moreover, Cabrisas stated Cuban Government’s will to strengthen its cooperative relationship with Japan in the investment sectors along with the Cuban Socioeconomic Plan (2016-2021), which is currently being formulated. Specifically he also mentioned on Cuba's Foreign Investment Law that came into effect last year and on the ongoing development of the Mariel Special Development Zone located 45 kilometers from the capital of Havana.

In response, Tanaka indicated that JICA will continuously provide cooperation for Cuba’s economic and social development. He specifically mentioned on the projects related to medical equipment that are being formulated based on the result of the visits to Japanese hospitals and Japanese medical equipment manufactures by dignitaries from the Cuba’s Ministry of Public Health and Ministry of Trade and Foreign Investment. He stated that one of JICA's roles is to lay the groundwork for strengthening the relationship between the two countries, including the private sector.

JICA will extend its cooperation towards Cuba including new sectors, and its efforts to facilitate Japanese private sector’s activities in Cuba.