[NYTr] Cuban Participation at Ibero American Summits Highlighted Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:56:26 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Agencia Cubana de Noticias (ACN) http://ainch.ain.cu/mailman/listinfo/ingles Cuban Participation at Ibero American Summits Highlighted Havana, August 29 (acn) The Secretary-General of the Ibero American Secretariat (SEGIB), Enrique Iglesias, highlighted on Wednesday, in this capital, the active participation of Cuba in the Ibero American summits which bring together some 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries, Andorra, Spain and Portugal. "SEGIB has always had Cuba's support," said the visitor during a meeting held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Havana. Iglesias pointed out that SEGIB seeks to promote the agreements signed by the Heads of State at the regional summits, and to implement initiatives for the expansion and development of that organization in the coming years. After recalling the proximity of the 17th Ibero American Summit to take place in Chile in November, the visiting official noted that SEGIB needs to be fed with not just declarations and rhetorical positions, but also with concrete actions based on mutual cooperation. The Cuban foreign minister, Felipe Perez Roque, ratified Cuba's commitment to the goals pursued by those major international meetings which have been held for over a decade. Perez Roque added that this visit is also a good opportunity to brief the visiting delegation on the social programs undertaken throughout the island and on Cuba's cooperation with Latin America despite Washington's economic, commercial and financial blockade on the island. SEGIB was created in 2003 with the purpose of strengthening the Ibero American identity and promoting multilateral cooperation in the fields of culture, sciences and education. *** Prensa Latina, Havana http://www.plenglish.com bero-American Secretary General Interested in Cuban Economy Havana, Aug 30 (Prensa Latina) Ibero-American Secretary General Enrique Iglesias expressed interest in Cuba's strategies to counter economic difficulties, and asked about the business improvement system, an organizational process that some Cuban state-owned companies are implementing. Iglesias met on Thursday with Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage, who closed a national seminar on entrepreneurial improvement, attended by 400 executives from local companies. Lage explained that entrepreneurial improvement is a program aimed at improving the efficiency, profitability and competitiveness of Cuba's economy by improving results in factories and industries. He added that the process was first implemented ten years ago in Army-run companies, and it was later applied to civilian firms. He said that 797 of 2,732 enterprises have benefited from the program. Lage noted that in the industries where the program has been implemented, sales increased 21 percent, profits rose 5 percent, and hard currency revenues grew 20 percent, among other achievements. Lage's meeting with Iglesias took place on the second day of his visit to Cuba. The Ibero-American official arrived in Havana on Tuesday to coordinate with Cuban authorities the works for the Ibero-American Summit, scheduled for November in Chile. He added that the mission of the Secretariat, "which has always counted on the Cuban government's support," is to pave the way for the heads of State and Government to debate key issues in their annual meetings. He recalled this year's Summit would deal with social cohesion, which is a new way to look at development beyond statistics on revenue. For his part, Lage expressed Cuba's commitment to contributing to the Secretariat's work as the coordinator of the goals established at the 16 previous summits. ef jg apf PL-22 * ================================================================= .NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems . Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us . .339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org . List Archives: https://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ . Subscribe: https://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================