Luanda - The Special Economic Zone (ZEE) has become a strong point for the boosting of economic relations between Angola and Cuba, said this Tuesday, in Luanda, the deputy prime minister of the Republic of Cuba, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz.
The Special Economic Zone (ZEE) has existed for 12 years and is the largest industrial park in the country, with 77 factories operating, of the 130 installed, in the various branches of economic activity, providing 6,700 direct jobs.
Factories of dairy products, food, detergent, clothing, plastic utensils and telecommunications services are operating in the ZEE, with a variety of investors from countries such as Cuba, India, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Germany, among others from Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America.
The Cuban government official, who visited the industrial park, was impressed and said that his government's intention was to increase investment in Angolan territory, plus strengthen the activity of the Priority Indústria factory that produces yoghurt and ice cream.
According to Ricardo Ruiz, this visit is the starting point to
persuade and attract more Cuban investors to bet on the Angolan market, in view of the important industrial centre. The deputy prime minister of the Republic of Cuba underlined that the need to strengthen economic relations with Angola stems from a mutual interest, with reciprocal gains for the peoples of both countries.
On his turn, the acting chairman of the Board of Directors of the ZEE, Álvaro dos Santos, said that the visit of the Cuban official to the Special Economic Zone is worth mentioning, underlining the interest of the increase in investment by Cuba in the country.
"The relationship between Angola and Cuba has been going on for a long time and covers several domains. Currently, the country has Cuban investment in the ZEE, which can be extended to the agribusiness sector", said the official.
Álvaro dos Santos informed that the ZEE is located in a strategic area, with easy access to road and rail transport networks that connects to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Namibia.
The visit to the ZEE aimed at enhancing and deepening trade relations between the two countries, in the sense of materializing the cooperation agreements already signed, and others that are to be concluded in a way that encompass fundamental areas for the sustainable economic development of Angola and Cuba.
The two countries already have bilateral agreements in the fields of the pharmaceutical/biotechnological industry, education, agriculture, culture and intend to extend cooperation to other economic sectors such as agribusiness by increasing business between the Special Zone of Mariel, in Cuba, and the Luanda/Bengo Special Economic Zone, in Angola.
