Raúl Castro Closes Plenary Session of Cuba Parliament

With a call from the Cuban President, Raúl Castro, to continue the path of sustainable development, following guidelines like productivity, efficiency, control and savings, concluded the 6th Regular Session of Parliament.

Growth of Cuban Economy in 2015 Considered Satisfactory

While closing the meeting of the members of the Eighth Legislature, the president said that despite the economic limitations projected, it corresponds to maximize the efficiency reserves to the top, to concentrate resources towards activities that generate export earnings and substitute imports.

We need to make the investment process more efficient and to grow in investments in the productive sector and infrastructure, prioritizing sustainability of power generation and growth of efficiency in the use of energy carriers, he pointed out.

In addition, he also indicated to reduce any expense that is not essential and to take advantage of the available resources more rationally and with dedication to develop the country. He said economic, trade and financial relations of the Caribbean island with several nations are entering a new stage.

As a concrete evidence in this direction, the leader mentioned the important multilateral agreement reached on December 12 in Paris, France, with the 14 Cuba’s creditor countries that make up the Ad-Hoc Group of the Paris Club.

In this regard, he highlighted the progress in the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between Cuba and the European Union (EU) and the bilateral relations with the Member States, in addition to the strategic importance of the agreement signed with the Government of the Russian Federation.

For its part, the Cuban Economy and Planning Minister Marino Murillo mentioned some of the sectors that grew in 2015, including the sugar industry, construction, trade and services, hotels and restaurants, electricity supplies, gas and water.

He highlighted the role of the manufacturing industry, since it can prevent the importing of products, while reported on the revival of domestic production, which must be defended.

In 2016, the minister said, it is crucial to increase efficiency in the use of the currency and to take advantage of the trend of lower prices on the world market.

The deputies approved the State Budget for 2016, which represents the magnitude of the financial resources with which the economy of the Caribbean island will operate and also endorsed the Plan of National Economy for the coming year.

At another point in the last session of Parliament in 2015, the deputies elected a new member of the State Council, to fill the vacancy following the resignation for health reasons of Abelardo Colomé. This time he was elected Jennifer Bello, who is the president of the Federation of University Students (FEU, in Spanish).