The conference rooms of Havana’s ministries have been unusually busy. Tourism officials, healthcare delegations, aviation representatives and mining executives have been cycling through back-to-back meetings with investors from the Gulf, Europe, North America, Africa and elsewhere.
Cuba , for the first time in decades, is pitching itself to the world amid what it calls a tipping point for its economy.
“We are at a particularly special moment because those transformations have accelerated,” Carlos Mendez, Cuba’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, told The National. He was speaking in the government’s first media interview, alongside Raul Castro – better known as Raulito – the grandson of former president Raul Castro and great-nephew of Fidel Castro.
“We are giving greater participation to the private sector within the economy, not only by opening more activities to private entrepreneurship, not only with the space given to foreign investment in practically all sectors of the economy, but also by creating a business environment that is more favourable and can be more competitive on the international stage,” said Mr Mendez.
That momentum gained urgency on Thursday, when Cuba's Communist Party approved an emergency economic package featuring unprecedented free-market measures that aim to expand private enterprise, granting greater autonomy to municipalities and state companies, and to open new doors to foreign investment.
Deals across major sectors
The scope of what has been signed-off in recent weeks is telling. Ahmed Faisal, an Egyptian-born business consultant and chief executive of Dubai's Ali Abdulla Bin Haidar Group, has stood out as a quiet intermediary between the Cuban government and international investors. Described by Cuban officials and businesspeople as “the architect”, he called the moment historic because of the volume of deals being negotiated for a post-sanctions Cuba.
Ahmed Faisal, chief executive of Ali Abdulla Bin Haidar Group Info
“Tourism: two MoUs [memorandums of understanding]. Aviation: one. Health care: one. Pharmaceutical: one,” he said. “We have another three in progress regarding minerals, mining, fertilisers, another one for tourism, another one for ports, and another one for fishing,” Mr Faisal said.
In tourism, Ali bin Haidar, chairman of Abdulla Ali bin Haidar Group, signed a letter of intent with the Cuban government for land on Santa Maria Island to build a luxury resort. The projec t could be named Trump Island if negotiations with the Trump Organisation are successful. Early renderings depict twin gold-domed towers, although no deal has yet been signed.
In mining, Egypt’s Mag Group signed an agreement with Cuba’s state mining entity CCN, focused on the Cajalpana project in Pinar del Río Province. Under the agreement, Mag will send a technical delegation to assess geological resources and infrastructure, with CCN assisting with site access and arranging meetings with officials from Cubanquel and the Ministry of Energy and Mines. A joint venture structure would follow if the evaluation proceeds.
“If sanctions are lifted, Cuba will need substantial investment across many sectors,” Mohamed Atta Gad, Mag’s chairman, said. “It is, in many ways, an untapped market with enormous potential.”
Yet he was candid about the biggest obstacle. “Honestly, the procedures are very smooth and flexible. The only major obstacle is the US sanctions,” he said.
Mohamed Atta Gad, chairman of Mag Group. Photo: Mag Group Info
Ministerial meetings have also taken place in sectors including oil and gas, health care and major infrastructure. Cuba’s ambassador to the UAE, Norberto Escalona Carrillo, confirmed continuing medical co-operation with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The island is also pushing hard on mining: its nickel reserves are estimated to be the world's fifth-largest, and it is seeking partners with the technical expertise to develop them.
What changed?
For the Cuban government, the transformation requires careful framing. Mr Mendez was explicit: “I would like to clarify that we are not privatising the economy. What we are doing is giving greater participation to the private sector in the economy, in practically all sectors.
“There is no specific percentage [that is being privatised]. We are not defining that one part must be private and another must be state-run.”
He was equally direct on political changes: “We are not willing to transform the Cuban political system. That is off the table.”
Mr Faisal found that framing understandable, if challenging. A generation of Cuban officials was formed inside a system that defined itself in opposition to private capital, and that formation does not disappear overnight, however urgent the economic necessity. “No, we are not privatising, we are modernising. It's the same thing,” Mr Faisal said, adding that the ministers he worked with were competent and committed to their country.
One of the most significant structural questions hang…
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