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For the twelfth year in a row in June, the EXPOCARIBE Fair will turn the usual calmness of the Heredia Theater into a bustling huddle of visitors and will serve to underscore Santiago de Cuba as the country's second-largest host city for tradeshows and events like this.

Since it big break back in 1992 as a small-scale fair, EXPOCARIBE has pursued to insert national enterprises –especially from the eastern part of the country- in the realm of Caribbean trade as a necessary link for Cuba after the collapse of the Socialist bloc. However, by 1998 the fair had more than doubled the goal behind its foundation and now the foreign presence is going beyond the regional boundaries to peak the number of 44 participating nations.

That's why from its tenth edition on, the sight was moved back to our geographical environment with a view to turn Santiago de Cuba into a major business center for the entire Caribbean.

In 2003, that intention is given a new lease on life, beginning with the tradeshow's dedication to regional integration. Moreover and for the first time ever, this year's gathering will be devoted to the Republic of Guyana, a neighboring country that keeps friendly relations with Cuba and hopes those ties could give way to wider chances of economic exchange.

Following down the trail blazed by former fairs, EXPOCARIBE 2003 will once again be the right framework for regional organizations to conduct working sessions and look to strengthening relations with Cuba's Chamber of Commerce. This time around, the Fourth Entrepreneurial Forum of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), in which delegations from its 25 member states are expected, will no doubt be the star of the show.

The forum's previous three editions were held in Venezuela, Mexico and Costa Rica, while this year's event will take place at the All-Purpose Hall of the Meliá Santiago Hotel. The same venue will welcome a couple of lecturers on June 10 and 11, as well as a negotiation round that will now replace the traditional EXPOCARIBE Business Round.

Attendants to the forum will be entitled to tour the fair and make presentations at the ACS's institutional stand specially set up for the event. International turnout is expected to improve on the usual participation of foreign companies headquartered in Cuba or elsewhere, as well as on the number of every year's newcomers.

On the Cuban part, companies from all across the island nation, and chiefly from the eastern side, will once again show up to represent the country's premier economic sectors and as a way to acknowledge the opportunities this tradeshow has to offer them to replace imports and buy spare parts, among other needs.

Furthermore, EXPOCARIBE will provide ample opportunities to hold collateral activities such as presentations of new products, corporate images and promotions. The entire agenda underlines the fair's position in furnishing a good moment for entrepreneurial initiative, and above all, a unique window for trade moves in the region.