Khaberni - Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero revealed on Thursday, a wide range of economic reforms aimed at boosting the market economy amidst a severe economic crisis sweeping through the country.
Marrero presented in a two-hour speech before the National Assembly, 176 reform proposals that include the banking sector, salaries, company ownership, foreign investments, and agriculture.
Prior to this, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel had stressed the necessity of "making urgent changes" to avert economic collapse under the unprecedented U.S. pressure.
These reforms, which are approved by the Communist Party, are scheduled for voting on Thursday in the National Assembly.
If approved, for the first time in Cuba, licenses will be granted to establish private companies if their employee count exceeds one hundred.
Licenses will also be given to open private banks, and foreign investments in the private sector will be allowed.
Marrero added that tourism, agriculture, and the currency market are among other sectors that will be opened to private investors, whether they are Cubans or foreigners.
Although Marrero did not specify a timeline for implementing these reforms, Diaz-Canel had urged the Communist Party on Wednesday not to delay tough decisions.
Daniel Toralbas, a Cuban economic expert based in London, described these proposals as "the deepest economic reform program... since the 1959 revolution" led by Fidel Castro.
He told Agence France-Presse, "It represents a fundamental shift in the country's economic development model."
While Havana tended to blame the American embargo imposed on it for more than six decades for the crisis, it acknowledged the existence of "obstacles that do not come from outside nor from the blockade."
The oil blockade imposed by President Donald Trump in January put the already deteriorating island economy on the verge of collapse, with continuous power outages, and severe shortages of food and medicine.
