Cuba and the EU cooperate on digitisation, energy and trade

The European Cuba-EU II Expert Exchange Programme, managed by FIIAPP, has been promoting cooperation with Cuba in different areas for five years. A follow-up mission of the programme’s activities in Havana (Cuba) has recently been carried out in Havana.   

In terms of international trade, training has been carried out on methodologies and tools with the aim of contributing to Cuban company development in terms of competitiveness and export capacity, to increase and diversify target markets. Participating in said training were staff from the Centre for Improving Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, part of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (MINCEX), staff from the National Institute for Economic Research (INIE) and the Information Technology and Advanced Telematic Services Company (CITMATEL).   

On energy efficiency issues, work is being carried out with specialists on sustainable energy districts. Tourist sector facilities and hotels are large energy consumers, with air conditioning being the main demand. On the other hand, Cuba has great challenges related to the electricity system, in terms of GHG emissions, electricity grid saturation, and dependence on imported oil. In this sense, sustainable, highly efficient district cooling systems can contribute to improving this situation, especially if the incorporation of renewable sources is carried out in a suitable manner.   

After a first phase of three virtual training sessions, a technical visit was conducted of different hotel facilities in Cuba which could benefit from possible future facilities for sustainable energy districts. The technical visit comprised a delegation of specialists from different Cuban entities from sectors such as refrigeration, air conditioning, the hotel industry and the tourism sector such as the GELECT (Electronics Group), the MEP (Ministry of Economy and Planning), CUBANACAN (Cuban hotel business group) and MINEM (Ministry of Energy and Mines of Cuba). All of them led by the Cuban Institute of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, the entity responsible for the activity in the country.  

Work sessions were also held on the Public Administration and its digital transition. During these days, it was possible to exchange on essential elements for a digital transformation strategy, online services for citizens, public records, electronic participation and telecommunications and digital infrastructure, among other topics. There were four days of training and exchange, led by the Estonian e-Governance Academy Foundation, with the attendance of personnel from the Ministry of Economy and Planning (MEP), the National Institute for Economic Research (INIE) and the Ministry of Communications (MINCOM), as well as specialists from territorial offices and other entities.  

These are some examples of the most recent activities carried out with Cuban partner institutions within the framework of the Programme. Likewise, a Final Programme Evaluation process is underway.  All institutions agreed that good results have been achieved through the exchanges of good practices between different institutions and highlighted the work of accompanying the Programme through the current economic modernisation process in Cuba. At FIIAPP and the programme, we continue to work jointly and in coordination with Cuban institutions in support of efforts made by the country regarding economic modernisation and updating its Public Administration.