At the start of his Latin American trip to Cuba, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reaffirmed the intention of closer economic relations with the economically hard-hit island state.

New incentives had recently been created for Russian companies to invest in Cuba, Mr Lavrov said in Havana on Monday.

He met there with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

Mr Lavrov is scheduled to meet with head of state Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela on Tuesday before taking part in a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Russia is an important political and economic partner for Cuba, which is ruled by the Communist Party and used to depend heavily on the Soviet Union for its economy.

Last May, delegations from the two countries discussed a number of measures to promote Russian investment in Havana, including the opening of Russian bank branches in Cuba, according to Russia.

Mr Lavrov said the volume of trade between the two countries increased ninefold in the first four months of 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year.

Mr Lavrov told state media representatives from both countries on Monday that Russia had already granted Cuba two loans for the supply of oil, petroleum products and food this year.

Both Cuba and Russia are subject to U.S. sanctions.

In addition to Cuba and Nicaragua, Venezuela is also one of the Russian government’s authoritarian, socialist-orientated allies in Latin America.

Mr Lavrov visited all three states and Brazil as recently as April last year. Brazil currently holds the annual rotating presidency of the G20 round of leading economic powers.

(dpa/NAN)