“This is truly an untapped field, and that’s very bad on our part. It’s a shame that we still haven’t fully taken advantage of Cuba’s experience and technologies,” Mashkova lamented when asked by the Sputnik news agency.

The vice president of the Russia-Cuba Business Council also noted that the Caribbean nation possesses cutting-edge technologies for treating various diseases and for manufacturing medicines, but at the same time lacks sufficient funds to develop production on an industrial scale.

However, what could be done is to locate domestic production within Russian territory, the expert stated, given that the Eurasian country also possesses advanced technologies in pharmaceutical manufacturing, Mashkova noted in an interview on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

“We must act quickly and very effectively. We must locate the production of Cuban pharmaceuticals here. This will be an important task not only for Russia and Cuba, but for all of humanity,” she pointed out.

Another important reason to collaborate with Cuba in the healthcare sector is that once a pharmaceutical product is registered in this country, it facilitates access to markets in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, she continued.

“The good thing is that we already have several Cuban products registered in Russia and some Russian products registered in Cuba. That is important, but we must continue,” she urged.

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