Authorities from our Agency ran a “Workshop on Methods and Techniques for the Analysis of International Markets and Business Intelligence Services” on October 8-12, at ProCuba Agency’s headquarters in La Habana. Among the participants were specialists and senior officials of ProCuba, the Center for Improvement, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (in Spanish, MINCEX), and foreign trade companies.
Having been selected among other bidders to run the workshop under the II Cuba-European Union Expert Exchange Program of the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), the presenters — Cooperation and International Relations Manager Viviana Arias and Technical & Commercial Information Manager Ezequiel Lijtinstens — gave the training in five modules centered around the enhancement of international trade actors’ performance. The topics aimed at transmitting ProCórdoba’s know-how in matters of market analysis, business intelligence and public procurement.
Roberto Guilarte Figueroa, Head of the Business Intelligence Department of the Immunoassay Center of Cuba, participated actively in the activity, and noted,
“The workshop has been highly beneficial for all the Cuban experts, mainly due to three factors: the importance and present relevance of the topics addressed, the great preparation of ProCórdoba’s specialists, and, finally, the mastery with which they have communicated the information and knowledge to us, all of which has made it truly worth the while.”
Figueroa concluded, “South-South cooperation is not only possible but also necessary. Sister nations like Cuba and Argentina must support and complement one another in this complex and globalized world. This activity has brought us closer. We’ve taken a great first step. I am grateful to ProCuba for encouraging this encounter and to ProCórdoba for making it happen.”
The closing ceremony, where participants and presenters received their certificates, was honored by the presence of authorities of the European Union, the Program, ProCuba, and Argentine Ambassador to Cuba Javier Figueroa. Technical & Commercial Information Manager Ezequiel Lijtinstens reflected upon the event and expressed his gratefulness:
“I would like to thank the Ambassador, our host ProCuba, and the European Union, which allowed us to come here. This has been a great experience. We got to learn more about Cuba and its business world, and we will relay this information to our SMEs. At the same time, people here are now more familiar with the work of ProCórdoba. This allows us to strengthen the relationship between both countries.”
Cooperation and International Relations Manager Viviana Arias said,
“I want to thank ProCuba for their trust. For us, this was a great challenge. We consider that these kinds of activities allow us to not only transmit knowledge but also become nurtured by what others say. It is important that there be solidarity between agencies with the same purpose, especially in the case of Latin American brothers. I am grateful to all those who made this possible, especially the European Union and its cooperation program, and Ambassador Figueroa, who is always a pleasure to work with.”
Ambassador Javier Figueroa gave the closing words:
“I also want to express my gratefulness to ProCuba and the European Union for giving us the chance to share the expertise of such a prestigious agency as ProCórdoba, which I had previously had the honor to work with. I was the Ambassador to South Africa and I am acquainted with the excellent work done by ProCórdoba in Southern Africa, so I was not all surprised to see the top-quality work and team of ProCórdoba. Finally, let me congratulate ProCuba for their training in their task and what they like to do.”
