Cuba increases Ag ties with Russia

Date:02-18-2009

Russia's president Dmitri Medvedev and Cuban leader Raúl Castro "signed a strategic partnership and several other documents aimed at rekindling an alliance that collapsed after the cold war," reports the New York Times. Following a series of devastating hurricanes in Cuba in the fall of 2008, Russia was the first country to provide aid, which included medicine, construction materials, and 25,000 tons of grain.

Russia has promised a US $20 million loan for development of Cuba’s infrastructure and its energy and agricultural sectors, while Cuba will cooperate with Russia in agriculture, manufacturing, science, and tourism. Trade between the two countries has reportedly increased by 26%.