Quick Trip to Cuba for Cuomo

Earlier this week Governor Cuomo took a trip to Cuba to discuss possible business transactions and possible trades with the Cuban government. Along the trip accompanying governor Cuomo, was about 20 business owners, trying to take advantage of the easing relations recently agreed on between Cuba and the United States. The governor’s trip includes multiple meetings with Cuban officials as well as businesses to hopefully expand New York companies with Cuba.

In December President Obama announced plans to ease diplomatic relations with Cuba. As of last week he intended to remove Cuba from the governments list of nations that sponsor terrorism. With this new and uprising news, many big time companies such as Netflix and Amazon plan to announce business opportunities with Cuba, along with many American Banks.

Governor Cuomo was the first governor to travel to Cuba since president Obama’s statement. Cuomo met with many Cuban officials one including Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel. Both discussed the United States trade embargo and human rights in Cuba.

“There is no doubt change is in the air and this is an exciting time in Cuba,” Cuomo stated before his flight back to New York. On Tuesday after returning to New York, Cuomo’s Administration announced that two New York companies made deals on his trade mission.

The Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo signed an agreement with the center of Molecular Immunology on Havana to develop a vaccine for lung cancer. The second company to sign a agreement with Cuba was Infor, a Manhattan software company.