Related videos:
The Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Chernishenko stated on Thursday that Russian companies are willing to invest in long-term projects in Cuba "despite external pressure."
His words were delivered during a business dialogue titled "Russia-Cuba: Cooperation in Turbulent Conditions. Investment, Tourism, Technologies," at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026) taking place from June 3 to 6 in that Russian city.
"Despite external pressure, Russian companies continue to expand their presence in Cuba and are willing to invest in long-term projects," stated the official.
Among the sectors of interest, Chernishenko noted that about 90 Russian companies are interested in exporting meat, dairy, and fish products to Cuba, and that Moscow can offer Havana solutions in information technology, cybersecurity, telemedicine, and business automation.
"Russia will continue to strengthen our relationship. Our partnership is set to become an example of a new architecture for international economic cooperation," he added.
On the Cuban side, the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, assured that Cuba is the country in Latin America and the Caribbean "where Russian companies can fully and confidently develop their activities."
The regime official highlighted that both nations share experience in facing sanctions from Western countries, particularly the United States, and presented this situation as a window of opportunity for Russia, arguing that many international competitors have exited the Cuban market.
Pérez-Oliva outlined investment opportunities in energy, refineries, tourism, transportation, mining, health, the biopharmaceutical industry, and infrastructure —including airports, railways, and roads— as well as in the agri-food industry, particularly in the import and processing of wheat.
In the refinery sector, the Cuban government offers incentives such as direct fuel sales to wholesale and retail markets, as well as the elimination of wholesale taxes on fuels.
The announcement comes just two months after the regime authorized Russian companies to operate industrial facilities on the island, an unprecedented step agreed upon during the XXIII meeting of the Russian-Cuban Intergovernmental Commission, held on April 1 in St. Petersburg, where eight bilateral documents were signed and investment plans exceeding 1 billion dollars were announced.
All of this is happening while Cuba is experiencing the worst energy crisis in its recent history, with prolonged blackouts and a chronic fuel shortage.
The United States has prohibited the shipment of Russian oil to the island. The last vessel arrived in March and barely covered between seven and ten days of consumption, providing temporary relief but failing to address the structural deficit affecting the Cuban population.
Russia is also studying the exploitation of nickel and cobalt deposits in Cuba, while the company Zarubezhneft is already operating in Boca de Jaruco alongside the Cuban state company CUPET with a reported investment of 100 million euros to drill 30 new wells.
Filed under: