In a press conference offered at the French embassy in the Cuban capital,
Lellouche noted that his country hopes to return to the levels of
relations they had ten years ago, when French investment in Cuba accounted
for 10% of the foreign total.

“Today, that percentage has dropped to 1.5, but this year we have invested
150 million euros in the Island and we hope to reach 250 million in 2012,”
he added.

Lellouche announced that in January 2012 a Cuban delegation will travel to
Paris in order promote relations and to look for financing for the
projects of next year.

“We want to sing accords in the agro-food, transportation, energy,
tourism, and culture sectors,” said the French official.

He noted that his government is closely following the ongoing process to
update the Cuban economic model and also the development of the private
sector in the Caribbean nation.

“We want to boost bilateral relations because there are no political
problems between our two nations and we share the same passion for freedom
and national independence,” pointed out Lellouche, who is in Havana on a
two-day official visit.

During his stay in Cuba, the visitor has met with the president of the
Cuban Parliament and with high-ranking officials of the Cuban ministries
of Foreign Trade and Investment, Transportation, and Tourism, among others.