Opening Remarks by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa at the South Africa-Cuba Business Forum Havana, Cuba
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure to address this South Africa - Cuba Business Forum.
It provides a valuable platform for engagement on economic cooperation.
It will undoubtedly contribute to our efforts to expand the relationship between our two countries into new arenas of mutual benefit.
Importantly, this forum has a practical purpose - to bring South African and Cuban business together to explore opportunities for collaboration.
South Africa and Cuba have a special relationship, stretching back several decades.
There are few countries outside our continent that have contributed more to the struggle of the African peoples for liberation from colonialism and apartheid than Cuba.
There are few countries that were prepared to commit as much material, personnel and political capital to the struggle for African freedom.
We fought alongside our Cuban comrades in Angola.
It is in large measure thanks to the support of Cuba that the forces of the apartheid military and their proxies were unable to capture Angola.
We remember the heroism of the Cuban soldiers in the battle of Cuito Cuanavale.
It was to prove a decisive moment in the history of Southern Africa, contributing to the sequence of events that led to the independence of Namibia and the ultimate fall of apartheid.
Cuba's support for our struggle did not end with the advent of our democracy in 1994.
Cuba stands with us in our efforts to build a better life for all our people.
Over 3,000 South African students are studying medicine in Cuba.
Over 400 medical doctors have already graduated.
And around 300 Cuban medical staff, engineers and maths and science teachers are working in the neediest areas of South Africa. By the end of the year, we expect that number to increase by another 450.
For a country of Cuba's size, for a country that has spent more than half a century under illegal economic sanctions, that is a remarkable contribution.
Since the dawn of democracy in South Africa, we have been part of the global effort to end the blockade of Cuba and to assert the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Cuban nation.
We were honoured to host the Cuban Five in our country shortly after their release from incarceration in the United States.
The people of South Africa were delighted to see them free after years of unjust imprisonment.
Their presence among us was a tangible signal of the changes taking place in the relationship between Cuba and the United States.
It suggested to us the possibility of a new dawn in Cuba.
We commend President Raul Castro and President Obama for the progress that has been made in normalising diplomatic relations.
We recognise, however, that there is still some way to go.
The historical injustice that has been perpetrated against the people of Cuba - the US blockade - remains in place.
We join the nations of the world in calling on the United States to act with speed and purpose to remove each and every remaining impediment to the growth and development of Cuba.
We call on the United States to recognise the injustice of these measures and to affirm the right of the people of Cuba to determine their own destiny.
We are confident that Cuba will prevail.
We are confident that Cuba will soon be able to realise the full potential of its bountiful natural resources, its favourable location and the rich capabilities of all its people.
As South Africa, we will stand with Cuba - and work with Cuba - until these political and economic objectives are achieved.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We have come to Havana to strengthen the strong bonds of solidarity and friendship between our two peoples.
We have also come to broaden that relationship in the areas of trade, investment and economic cooperation.
We are here because we want to increase bilateral trade between South Africa and Cuba.
Despite substantial interest and clear will, the US blockade has limited the extent to which we have been able to explore, and exploit, synergies between our two economies.
We hope that through this business forum and through other engagements we will be able to start to address this gap.
We welcome therefore the participation of South African companies in the Havana International Trade Fair and the South African National Exhibition in November.
We see the annual Cuba Industria Fair as another vehicle to promote trade and investment between South Africa and Cuba.
We are therefore encouraging South African companies to travel to Cuba to seek opportunities for investment and partnership and trade.
South Africa and Cuba have similar economic needs and priorities.
Mining and agriculture each form a significant part of our respective economies.
We are both seeking to develop these sectors and to improve the contribution of these sectors to our export earnings.
In South Africa, we are engaged in a process of industrialisation.
Among other things, this involves greater beneficiation of our mineral resources, ensuring that we extract greater value from these natural assets and create more work for our people.
We are also working to develop our agro-processing industries so that we may access new, more valuable markets.
We believe there is opportunity, in this process, for South Africa and Cuba to share experiences and cooperate on technology and skills transfer.
South Africa is currently engaged in the largest infrastructure build programme in its history.
We are investing significantly in critical economic infrastructure like energy, road, rail, water and telecommunications.
We are also investing in hospitals, clinics, universities, colleges and schools.
We are keen to see how Cuba has managed, under extremely difficult economic conditions, to develop its social and economic infrastructure.
We want to study Cuba's approach to education and skills development.
The substantial skills gap is probably the single most critical challenge that South Africa faces today.
It is the most debilitating aspect of apartheid's legacy and one that will take many decades to overcome.
We are therefore deeply impressed and much encouraged by the single-minded determination with which Cuba has worked to develop the potential of its people.
It has produced skilled professionals of a calibre that enables them to work and add value anywhere in the world.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Both Cuba and South Africa occupy strategic political and economic positions within their respective regions.
We need to explore how greater cooperation between our two countries can contribute to greater economic interaction between Latin America and Africa.
We need to explore how South Africa and Cuba can be nodes for broader regional development and shared progress.
Our histories are intertwined.
For centuries, the most abundant form of trans-Atlantic trade was in human lives.
The hateful, shameful practice of slavery shaped our countries and for many generations determined their fortunes.
Now we have an opportunity to forge a new era of trans-Atlantic trade.
We have an opportunity to forge a new era of trade premised on mutual respect and human solidarity.
This is trade that benefits all.
This is trade that enriches people's lives and improves their prospects.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are convinced that Cuba is on the cusp of a new age of development and progress.
South Africa has entered the second phase of its transition from apartheid to a truly united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous nation.
Our focus is firmly on economic transformation.
We therefore believe that this is an opportune moment for South Africa and Cuba to deepen its economic ties to the mutual benefit of our two peoples.
It is an opportune moment to expand our relationship into new areas of cooperation and collaboration.
It is an opportune moment to meet in a forum like this - as governments, as businesses, as comrades, as friends, as partners in the effort to build a better future for all our people.
I thank you.
