France opens development agency office in Cuba to boost cooperation

The French Development Agency (AFD) on Tuesday opened an office in Cuba, a new sign of the increasing economic cooperation between the two countries.

French Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Matthias Fekl and his Cuban counterpart Rodrigo Malmierca inaugurated in Cuba the office of the French agency, which will carry out economic development projects to boost cooperation between Paris and Havana.

Fekl said the opening of the office is a result of the visit by French President Francois Hollande to Cuba in May of last year.

Hollande's visit to Cuba was the first by a European president after the United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations.

"Relations between Cuba and France are strong and have been strengthened over the last two years. We have signed joint agendas for economic and tourism development," he said.

The French official said the AFD will support investment in areas of common interest to support Cuba's economic development.

"The agency is already involved in a joint project to further develop Cuba's livestock industry in the central province of Camaguey and we look forward to participating in many other investment opportunities," said Fekl.

Malmierca said that cooperation between Paris and Havana has always been "productive," and in the last two years it has been strengthened through the exchange of high level visits.

Cuban President Raul Castro made a state visit to Paris last December that helped deepen commercial and economic ties between the two countries, said the minister.

"With this first joint investment to develop Cuba's livestock industry, we are showing the importance of bilateral cooperation. Other areas like infrastructure and renewable energy could be fields where we can work together," Malmierca added.

France is Cuba's second largest trading partner in Europe and over 185,000 French tourists visited this Caribbean country last year. Endi