Raul Castro Seeks Expanded Trade with Russia

HAVANA TIMES, Jan. 28 – President Raul Castro arrived in Russia on Wednesday, the first trip there by a Cuban president in more than two decades. While Russia-Cuba ties hit bottom when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, trade and cooperation between the two countries are now on the upturn.

Cuba and Russia signed important trade deals when Presidient Dimitri Medvedev visited the island last November. The BBC reported that further business deals are expected to be signed during President Castro’s visit, possibly including ones involving oil drilling off Cuba’s shores.

Raul Castro took office last February and made his first official trip abroad in mid-December to Venezuela and Brazil.