The eighth session of the Cuba-Grenada Joint Commission came to a close Wednesday as it achieved reactivation and strengthening of cooperation in health, education, culture, construction and civil defense. Among the standout agreements, the Cuban commitment to contribute to the creation of a civil defense system in the Caribbean island nation for the early detection of natural phenomena, training and recovery of people is worth noticing.

Dominica will not survive in the global economy if the Caribbean island´s annual growth rate does not double, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday. From 2001 to 2003, Dominica´s negative annual growth rate averaged about 5 percent. Last year, the economy grew 3.49 percent and is expected to grow 3.7 percent this year.

Sol Meliá SA said net profit rose to 14.6 million euros in the first quarter to March 31 from 6.9 million euros a year earlier, driven by a positive performance from its overseas hotels. In a statement, Sol Meliá said sales rose 10 percent to 262 million euros in the first quarter from 238 million euros a year earlier, as EBITDA climbed 16 percent to 71 million euros from 61 million euros.

The international hotel chain Hyatt plans to invest $50 million in Costa Rica in the next two years, mainly in a 200-room hotel, according to firm sources. Hyatt´s vice-president for development Michael Schindler visited the country in order to analyze possible locations for the hotel. Rodrigo Trujillo, Hyatt´s business director, said that the site has not been decided yet, but that the firm wants to be present in Costa Rica at any rate.

The spokesman of Spanish airline Iberia, Jaime Perez-Guerra, said this week in a press conference held in Mexico City that his company is waiting for a decision by Mexican authorities over the possible sale of the Cintra consortium, the enterprise that controls the country´s major air carriers. “We´ve voiced our interest in going ahead with the purchase, but we´re still waiting for the Mexican government to speak out about the terms and conditions of the sale,” Mr. Perez-Guerra pointed out.

Eddy Martinez, executive director of the Dominican Export & Import Center (CEI), took a grand tour this week around a number of colleges and technological parks, and contacted with British impresarios in an effort to draw cash flow from that European nation to the Dominican Republic. Mr. Martinez told the British audience the Dominican Republic has what it takes to accept foreign investments, especially in the field of tourism, telecommunications, seaports and airports, and over three million visitors every year.