Erfurt (dpa/th) - The Thuringian Left Group has spoken out in favor of more trade and scientific cooperation with Cuba. The export volume between the Free State and Cuba fell from around 5 million euros in 2012 to 586,000 euros in 2021, explained the economic policy spokesman for the Left Group, Andreas Schubert, on Sunday. "In the context of the supply chain problem and the loss of entire markets for Thuringia's foreign trade, there is still considerable room for improvement in order to intensify relations with the Republic of Cuba and to protect the economy in Thuringia from further crises," said the left-wing politician.
He also advocated more scientific cooperation and exchange in the areas of culture, tourism and sport with the socialist-ruled Caribbean island. There is already initial cooperation in the field of medicine and biotechnology between the TU Ilmenau and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena with universities in Cuba. In the sports and tourism industry, on the other hand, there has so far been no exchange.
Schubert referred to a small request that he made to the state government. The response from the Ministry of Economics reads: "Beyond the existing approaches in the field of art and culture, the state government does not see any approaches to intensifying relations with Cuban partners in the areas inquired about."
In the cultural sector, Cuban musicians have repeatedly performed at the Rudolstadt Festival in the past. "Further cooperation with Cuba is planned for the 2023 festival edition," the reply said. According to the data, Cuban students are rarely drawn to Thuringia - only one to three were enrolled at a Thuringian university between the winter semester 2012/2013 and the winter semester 2021/2022.
