Ukrainian president ends official visit to Cuba

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich wrapped up his three-day official visit to Cuba on Sunday, saying the two countries' bilateral ties, especially those in trade, would grow greatly. "We came to Cuba to enhance economic and trade relations," Yanukovich said after meeting with his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro and Cuba's former leader Fidel Castro. He said that direct flights between Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and Havana would be launched next year to increase business ties and tourism. The two sides also established the Cuba-Ukraine Business Committee on Friday, with the aim to promote cooperation between enterprises of both nations as well as bilateral trade and investment. Cuba and Ukraine also inked a memorandum of understanding and some protocols to boost cooperation in transport, education, science, culture and sports in the coming years. Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, the Cuban minister of foreign trade and foreign investment, said the two countries' trade volume would grow significantly with the help of these agreements. Cuba and Ukraine established diplomatic relations in 1992. The trade volume between the two nations reached 25.9 million U.S. dollars last year, according to Cuban authorities.