British companies to invest in Cuba's agriculture, tourism

British companies have agreed to invest 400 million U.S. dollars in Cuba in areas such as agriculture, tourism and energy, local media reported Saturday.

"The Cuban government has made it clear that all sectors of the economy, except for health, education and armed forces, are open to private investment. This gives us tremendously exciting opportunities for the future," said Lord Hutton, president of Cuba Initiative.

About 50 British companies are members of the Cuba Initiative, a project started in 1995 to promote businesses on the island, though its progress has been slow and sometimes imperceptible.

Local media highlighted the construction of a new Golf course, the second one in Cuba with British capital.

President of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, Orlando Hernandez said that in spite of the strengthening of economic relations between the two countries, "there is still much to be done with regard to commerce and investment between Cuba and the UK."

Bilateral trade between the two countries decreased by 40 percent year-on-year in 2014, while Cuban exports to Britain decreased by 66 percent.

With regard to tourism, Britain has become the third largest source of tourists for Cuba, and the second in Europe, with about 150,000 British people visiting the island country a year.