2014 International Havana Fair to Focus on Foreign Investment

The 32nd International Havana Fair (FIHAV 2014), to be held here from Nov 2 to 8, will have as its main focus the promotion of foreign capital participation in Cuban development projects, says Orlando Hernandez, president of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce.

FIHAV is no longer a fair destined solely to promote trade, but also to attract foreign investment, Hernandez told Prensa Latina here Tuesday.

As in the previous editions of the fair, this one has as its main target the spreading of business opportunities in projects of the Special Development Zone of Mariel, west of Havana, taking benefit of the incentives provided by the Law on Foreign Investment, as well as the presentation of its business portfolio.

One of the first activities of the programme is a lecture on the reach of that legislation by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca.

Spain, Venezuela, Brazil, Russia and China will be among the most well-represented countries at the expo, which is expected to have equal or higher number of participants than last year, both in area of exhibition as well as in number of countries attending, some 60 or 65, or more.

Cuban exhibits will occupy the central pavilion with more stands than the previous year. In its usual venue of Expocuba, the Fair will highlight the great potential of the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, together with exports of the services sector and non-traditional products.

The fair is a particularly important venue for promoting Cuban exports, with a decisive role to play in the updating of Cuba’s economic model.