The governments of Russia and Cuba signed this week, during the visit to Moscow of Esteban Lazo, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP), a seven-year business agreement, and in that context they included the – open branches of Russian banks. in Havana.
According to the official report of the Russian legislature, the president of the Russian State Duma, Viacheslav Volodin, endorsed the “cooperation” between the two countries with several projects, including the opening of Russian banks in island.
“Decisions were made that will allow us to build more relations, joint economic development and bring our positions closer,” said Volodin, in the meeting with Lazo.
The Russian official added that “we want to facilitate investments, so we will open branches of Russian banks in Cuba, and of course, we will promote humanitarian ties.” There is also talk of cooperation in the education sphere, where scholarships for Cubans in Russia and even teleclasses in Russia on Cuban TV have already been mentioned.
Russian banks in Havana: use of the ruble in Cuba?
A few months ago (about five) the Vice President of the Government of Russia, Dmitri Chernyshenko, during his visit to the island, discussed the opening of at least three Russian bank branches in Havana.
The purpose, he said then, is to facilitate the operations and investments of Russian businessmen in the Caribbean country, who can count on credits from Russian financial entities for their projects.
“Cuba offers opportunities to open branches of Russian banks, which will provide financing for Russian projects in Cuba, which will allow both to develop the economy and make investments profitable,” Chernyshenko said at a meeting in Havana.
In addition, the Russian vice president recalled that since this year the magnetic cards of the Russian MIR system can be used in Cuba, which facilitates the exchange of rubles for Cuban pesos at ATMs.
“We hope that in the near future it will be possible to pay with Russian Mir cards in Cuban shops, which will have a positive impact on the tourism industry,” he said.
