HAVANA, March 28 (Xinhua/APP):The first Havana Local Development Fair kicked off Monday at the Expocuba exhibition center with face masks required, as government measures to boost economic activities after a pandemic hiatus and the tightened U.S. embargo against the island.
The event will contribute to improving the interaction between the state and non-state sectors, Cuban Minister of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil told Xinhua.
“We are betting on local development, mobilizing endogenous resources of territories,” he said. “All efforts to promote local development across the country are welcome.”
Running through April 3, the fair features food products, wooden furniture, construction materials, textiles, ornamental plants and others.
The exhibition stands represent 720 state companies, cooperatives, local development projects and private businesses, including the recently approved small and medium-sized enterprises.
The non-state sector could significantly help the national economy grow, Juan Triana, a Cuban university professor and senior economist, told Xinhua.
“This fair has added the new economic players as a functional and substantial part of the Cuban economy,” which is “fundamental for the future of the Caribbean nation,” he said.
According to official statistics, there are about 2,000 state companies and over 2,500 small and medium-sized enterprises in Cuba.
Cuba’s GDP has been projected by the Cuban Ministry of Economy to grow by 4 percent this year after having contracted by 13 percent during the sanitary emergency.