HAVANA, April 24. /TASS/. The fact that Russia has been invited to be the guest of honor at the 14th International Construction Fair FECONS-2024 in Havana shows the positive trend in Russian-Cuban ties in the trade and economic area, Russian Ambassador to Havana Viktor Koronelli told TASS.

"It is telling that this year Russia is the guest of honor at this most prestigious exhibition, the 14th one of its kind. This obviously demonstrates the dynamics that our bilateral relations in the trade and economic area boast," he said. This is largely the result of the 20th meeting of the Russian-Cuban intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation that took place in Cuba last May, as well as the 21st meeting of the commission in Moscow on March 15, the diplomat added.

The construction sector is one of the main areas of bilateral cooperation, with the Cuban side planning to work in a number of directions in this respect, he noted. "This is both training of Cuban personnel in Moscow and organizing further training for Cuban construction personnel here," the ambassador explained. "They are also interested in issues related to introducing new technologies and use of construction materials on the basis of the local resource base, which is quite rich, to make production as efficient and cost-effective as possible," he said.

Russia’s trade representative in Cuba Sergey Baldin told TASS that beefing up cooperation with Russia in the construction sector might have a positive effect on the development of other areas of the Cuban economy as well. "Cubans are interested in attracting investment here, in developing construction infrastructure, and we hope that certain contracts will be concluded and Russia’s participation in Cuban projects to reinvigorate the sector and production base of construction materials will only rise," he stressed. "Our goal is to help the Cuban economy recover, including the development of construction infrastructure. This refers to both tourism and other sectors that need construction materials and investment in construction production," Baldin noted.

At least 129 construction companies from 13 countries are taking part in the 14th International Construction Fair FECONS-2024 that opened in Havana on Tuesday. It will last until April 26.