Lanka-Cuba agreement on coconut industry

A highlight of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's official visit to Cuba was the signing of an agreement between the two countries on the development of the coconut industry in the presence of President Rajapaksa.

The agreement was entered into by the Sri Lankan Coconut Development Ministry and the Cuban Agriculture Ministry.

External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris signed the agreement on behalf of Sri Lanka and Cuba's Agriculture Minister signed on behalf of Cuba. A press release issued by the President's Media Division said the main objective of the agreement is to develop the coconut industries of the two countries.

Under this agreement it is also hoped to share scientific and technical knowledge on coconut development between the two countries, implement training programmes between the two countries for research on coconut development, application of strategies for improving coconut productivity and conducting scientific research relevant to the coconut industry. Apart from this, steps will be taken to identify coconut strains with higher productivity, exchange technology relating to copra development of coir based industries and seek the possibility of using coconut industrial waste for the production of energy.