Over 1,000 firms from 50 countries to attend Havana’s 20th International Fair

Abraham Maciques, chairman of the Organizing Committee for Havana’s 20th International Fair (FIHAV 2002) augured more than a thousand firms from some 50 countries will showcase their products this time around in a leased exhibiting area of 15,000 square meters.

This major tradeshow –penciled in as the biggest in Latin America and the Caribbean- will hold its sessions in both indoor stands and outdoor fairgrounds of ExpoCuba in the southern beltway of the Cuban capital from Nov. 3 through 10, sources close to the event informed this week.

Big-time entrepreneurial sectors hailing from Spain, Venezuela, China, Canada, the Russian Federation, the Netherlands, Italy and France have already confirmed their attendance in the fields of commerce and services, Cuba’s Vice Minister of Foreign Trade Estrella Madrigal said in a press meeting.

Mrs. Madrigal pointed out that Europe –comprising 43% of all attending companies- goes on to be Cuba’s number-one overall trade partner followed by America and Asia. Vice Minister Madrigal added that Cuba does business with over 160 nations and more than 3,000 foreign firms. In her remarks, the Cuban high-ranking official praised the role Havana’s International Fair has played in refocusing the island nation’s commerce and branching out its markets.

Members of FIHAV 2002’s Organizing Committee underscored the importance of these events in creating loopholes to the U.S. trade and economic embargo on Cuba, let alone the fair’s renowned prestige for the kind of business perspectives it provides to local and outlandish participants alike. “The fair’s birth fostered the creation of joint ventures in the industrial field and the growth of partnered production,” Mr. Maciques commented.

Chairman Maciques averred that these events –more than 150 theme and general tradeshows have been held so far in exhibiting areas and fairgrounds of EXPOCUBA, PABEXPO and the International Conference Center- do not put a financial burden on the island nation for they churn out profits out of services, gourmet offers and hotel accommodations.

Antonio Carricarte, chairman of Cuba’s Chamber of Commerce (CCC), revealed the upcoming 20th edition of Havana’s International Fair will have such novelties as the special presentation of the information technology sector, a huge array of cultural items, a virtual fair introduced by CIMATEL-CCC and a convenience service offered by ETECSA -Cuba’s phone company- to provide entrepreneurs and attendants with online hookup capabilities right from their own stands.