Russian oil companies Rosneft and Zarubezhnetf signed two cooperation agreements with the Cuban enterprise Cupet (Cuban Oil Union) at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, with President Vladimir Putin in attendance, according to PL.

The accords established plans for the companies to conduct joint exploration projects, and build a logistics base for Rosneft in the Mariel Special Development Zone, 45 kilometers west of Havana.

Signing for the Russian side were, Rosneft executive Igor Sechin and Serguei Kudriachov, general manager of Zarubezhneft, while Juan Torres, Cupet general manager represented Cuba. Additionally attending the ceremony were Cuba’s Energy and Mining Deputy Minister Rubén Cid and the country’s ambassador in Russia, Emilio Lozada.

During their stay in Russia’s second largest city, the Cuban delegation participated in a panel on ways in which the Russian economy and those of Caribbean and Latin American nations are complementary.

Lozada emphasized that, in particular, member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (Alba) offer Russian investors significant opportunities.

With respect to Cuba, he emphasized the country’s new foreign investment law and the recently opened Mariel Special Development Zone.

Lozada commented that the presence of a Cuban delegation at the St. Petersburg Forum reflects the country’s rejection of attempts by the U.S. and its allies to isolate Russia with economic sanctions.

Gueorgui Poltavchenko, governor of St. Petersburg, held a special meeting with the Cuban delegation and reiterated the city’s interest in re-establishing cooperative relations with Havana and Santiago de Cuba.